Perfectly Imperfect Love
by swagosaurus
Summary: Hearbroken after the wedding of his two former best friends, Naruto tries to get over his love by joining the ANBU Black Ops. Years later, a drastically changed Naruto reunites with the very person he tried to forget. Will he finally break? Or will he get the love he had desired for so long? Naru/Saku. DarkFic. Rated for violence, sex, etc. -ON HIATUS FOR A LITTLE WHILE-
1. Heartbreak

A/N: OH BOY, here's my angsty fic! Rewritten with realism! Thanks for all the input I got on the earlier version, particular gratitude towards 'Suave Jiraiya'. your PMs really helped me out!

Hopefully this doesn't dissapoint. PREPARE FOR FEELS OVERLOAD.

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 1 - Heartbreak**_

* * *

_This couldn't take any longer._

He wanted this to be over with. He wanted to go home, eat a tub of icecream, and cry himself to sleep like the emotional bitch he was.

But Naruto Uzumaki wouldn't. He had to stick to his guns. Never give up, never back down, don't run away. His nindo was his life.

"I do."

The words rang in his head, repeating like a mantra. The words shattered his heart, yet the smile she was gracing him with taped the broken pieces together like a child would fix a toy. Broken. That's what he was.

He has a sinking feeling, ever since the war began and ended two years ago, that this would happen. Sakura Haruno would never choose him. Not him, never him. _That night...I guess it really was nothing to her._

"You may now kiss the bride."

Their lips connected, and Naruto forced himself to look away. He could already feel the tears welling up in his dull, cerulean orbs. But he wouldn't let them fall.

This was _her _wedding day. The beginning of her own happiness. And, selfishly, the end of his own.

"Speech, speech, speech!" The crowd called to him. _Oh that's right. I'm the fucking best man._

_**"Staple your sack together, kit. You can do this. Then we can go to the training grounds, miles away from this damn village, and blow each other up. How does that sound?"**_Kurama said from within his mind. Their mental link was strong, and it was because of their bond as comrades and _friends _that they could maintain it. Though Naruto still wasn't fond with the brunt cursing and terminology the demon fox had picked up over the years.

_Alright, Kurama. But don't think you're going easy on me. I feel like dying right now._

_**"Wouldn't have it any other way."  
**_

Naruto shakily walked up to the microphone, avoiding everyone's gazes. A few knew of his true feelings, and they felt a pang of hopelessness in their hearts, mirrored by Naruto's own.

He was wearing a dark blue tuxedo that complimented his eyes; his hair, now longer, drooped onto his forehead, caressing his eyebrows.

He cleared his throat, and began the speech. His voice cracked a few times as he went over their genin days, he just about burst into tears when he talked about Sakura's feelings towards the Uchiha even then, and after skipping over the war and Sasuke's betrayal, talked about their relationship. The relationship he should have had- _No. I was never in the picture._

After finishing with a ramen analogy, and how even in the coldest of bowls you can still find the delicious flavor, he stepped back. No one but the Nara genius, Shikamaru, noticed his clenched fists and the small trails of blood leaking from his palms.

The guests erupted into applause, and he got a few claps on the backs from his fellow groomsmen. He got a smirk from Sasuke, and Sakura smiled warmly at him. He forced, _forced _a grin onto his face, because damn it, he wasn't going to ruin her day because he was feeling a little heart broken.

Sasuke was wearing a formal pitch black suit and tie, and it had the Uchiha emblem on the back. Sakura was donned in a tight fitting, light pink wedding dress that hugged her body and accented it perfectly.

_**"More like your heart has been vaporized. Don't you hate people who lie to themselves, kit? I can feel your negative emotions. It's feels EXACTLY like dying."**_The Kyuubi remarked slyly. Naruto gave him the mental equivalent of a glare, and shut him out for the time being as he sat down near the punch bowls, next to Kakashi and Yamato.

An hour later, and a few cups of sake later, the reception was in full swing. The music was loud, the crowd was happy, and Naruto couldn't feel any more miserable for himself. _I'm pathetic. Fucking pathetic._

"Aren't you going to ask her to dance?" His first sensei asked. Yamato gave him a sad look. The blonde frowned. _No, I'm not going to ask her to dance, because if I do, I won't want to let go._

Naruto shrugged. "'Dunno where she is." He lamely replied.

"I'm right here, idiot." A feminine voice sounded from behind him, and he felt his heart leap into his chest. He looked behind, and sighed when he saw her. _She's beautiful..._

"Well? You gonna ask, or what?" Sakura said, smiling and holding her hips. He groaned inwardly, cracked a smile. All of his previous resistance was shattered when he saw her lips quirk upwards in happiness.

"May I have this dance, Sakura-chan?" He asked, and when he saw her eyes light up, he smiled genuinely, but only just.

He stood up, grabbed her hand, and led her to the middle of the room. His mind then caught up with his actions.

She flung her arms around his neck, while he reluctantly placed his hands on her hips. _Her wonderful, shapely hip- NO! _

He wondered briefly if this would hurt him in the end. Probably.

She rested her head on his shoulder, causing him to stiffen further. _Why, of all times, is she choosing to be close to me _after _she's married? K__ami hates me. I have no other explanation._

She sighed in delight. "I'm so happy. Thank you, Naruto. For everything..." She trailed off.

He grimaced. Many people were watching the two dance. He caught the eye of Yamato, who gave him another sad, knowing smile. The Mokuton user understood well.

"Yeah. I'm happy too." He lied. She looked up at him, and sighed after catching his lie. It was going to break her heart to do this, but it had to be done. _This is neccessary...for both of us._

"Naruto...I know how you still feel about me." She stated, and his breath hitched in his throat. He froze, and felt a tight ball of dreadful feelings built up within him. _Oh no...no no no..._

"But...I want to spend some time apart. Us, I mean. We shouldn't...hang out anymore. I don't want to break your heart..." She said sadly, as if _they _were breaking up.

As they swayed uncomfortably, Naruto's thoughts drifted to his most painful memory of him and Sakura, rivaled only by her confession in the Land of Iron.

Right after the war, when Naruto almost died, Sakura's emotions got control over her actions. She was scared for Naruto's life. She felt so desperate, so _alone _that she kissed him in the medical tent. All protocol was thrown out of the window, and Naruto was too shocked to do anything.

It led to the two sharing each others bodies. It was a blur; it was desperate sex. It was both of their first times, and it was clumsy, unbearably awkward, yet passionate at the same time.

As he made love to the girl of his dreams, the girl he had loved for _so long_, any thoughts of doubt or questions were abolished. It was only until they both reached the mountainous peak and climaxed, and when she accidentally called Sasuke's name instead of his, the world fell apart. She used him; pretended he was the Uchiha. Their friendship was broken, and his heart was fractured, as if someone had stuck a million kunai into it.

After that, the awkwardness between the two was intense. He made a silent vow to himself to never speak of the event, in an effort to salvage what remained of their shaky and tattered relationship. They were never quite the same after that; that night was forgotten, yet lingered in their minds every time they met up.

He scoffed uncharacteristically. "Too late for that." He muttered, dropping his hands to his sides. Sakura did the same, and stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Naruto, I'm sorry...I really am. I love Sasuke-kun. We're married. I don't want to cause you anymore pain. I care for you too, you know..."

He laughed bitterly. The jealousy was overpowering the heartbreak, and for once in his selfless, miserable life, he felt like being selfish and making her _see_. _This was a long time in the making. _He thought angrily.

"Yeah, right. You've never given a shit about me. I was your tool to get Sasuke. I suppose you cared about me when you _begged _me to get him back for you? I guess you cared for me, when you used _my _feelings against me in the Land of Iron to deal with him yourself? Or when you automatically jumped into his arms when I finally brought him back-" He knew the palm that connected with his cheek was coming. He didn't even flinched when she slapped him.

She had tears in her eyes, and her bottom lip was quivering. "Y-you...how can you e-even _say _that? Of course I care. You're...you're just jealous." She accused.

"I'm not going to _lie to myself _and say I'm not. You're right. I'm jealous. For some fucking reason, I'm in love with you, and I'm jealous that you've married the guy who doesn't even deserve you." He admitted, glaring into her teary jade eyes. She gasped when he said he was in love with her; hearing the words shocked her.

"N-naruto...stop being an idiot!" She said angrily, yet had a begging tone in her voice.

"So that night, after the war...that meant nothing to you?" He asked quietly, and her eyes widened. _Oh no..._

"Of course it didn't. You just _used _me once more. But, I still loved you. Even when you said _his _name, I still loved you." He stated darkly before she could reply.

"T-that was a one-time thing! We both weren't even thinking! It was a mistake!" She said, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Exactly. A mistake...that's all everything is. Just one big mistake."

He sighed. "And look at me now. I made you cry on your _fucking _wedding day. Another mistake I've made. Well, I hope you enjoy your life with Sasuke. Name one of the kids after me, ne? Goodbye, Sakura...-san." He said, scowling, before walking away and leaving her there. She sniffed as she watched one of her most important people finally walk out of her life, after years of abuse and anguish. _God...I'm so sorry, Naruto..._

Every step he took he felt the guilt weighing him down. He felt her gaze on his back. _I shouldn't have snapped like that...I just ruined her happiness. Something I swore never to do. God damn it. I can't do anything right._

Thankfully, the conversation was quiet enough and the music was loud enough that not many heard what was said, or knew that she slapped him. He slumped down back in his chair at the 'singles' table. Rock Lee, Kiba Inuzuka, Chouji Akimichi and Sai.

Shikamaru was in a 'relationship' with the Kazekage's sister, Temari. The two were out on the floor, dancing. Or rather, she was dancing, he was merely shuffling his feet around lazily.

Kiba looked at him sadly. He was one of the few who observed the whole thing. "You alright, dude?"

Naruto nodded numbly, staring at his lap. "Girls are heartbreakers." Kiba muttered, leaning back.

The blonde glanced at Kiba, who was watching Hinata dance with Neji. He felt bad for Kiba. He knew the pain he felt from the very beginning. If he could find anyone to relate to, it was the Inuzuka.

Kiba was in love with Hinata, who in turn was in love with Naruto. After the war, Kiba had confessed his love to the Hyuuga Heiress, who had to politely reject him. Soon after, Naruto did the same with her. The timing couldn't have been worse.

Though, Kiba never held it against him; just as Naruto couldn't hate Sasuke. Sakura was happy now.

He looked at Kiba, and then to the other men around the table, who were chatting. Noticing his gaze, they looked at him.

The blonde's eyes flickered to the open bar.

"Want to get drunk?"

* * *

_This was a mistake.  
_

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!" The crowd roared as he and Kiba were in a drinking contest. Naruto took five shots, and beating Kiba, shotgunned a beer.

He belched loudly, half drunk, and the guests erupted into laughter. He giggled, and high fived Kiba.

"You shuck Kiba..!" He slurred, his eyes unfocused. The Kyuubi deep inside the blonde sighed. _The damn brat got drunk. Fantastic. I hope he knows that I can't heal intoxication without him going into Bijuu mode...which will cause him to blow up half of this god forsaken village.  
_

Kiba fell over and passed out. Shino, who was observing, sighed and picked him up to bring him home.

Naruto stumbled away, before he set eyes on a certain table on the other side of the room; Tsunade, Sakura, Sasuke and Iruka were there, all chatting amongst themselves, until the old academy teacher spotted the blonde.

He waved enthusiastically at him. "Naruto! Over here! Let's have a chaaa...is he _drunk_?" Iruka asked, eyes wide.

Sasuke smirked, while Sakura frowned. She felt both angry and guilty; she felt as though she had a part to play in Naruto's current state. She didn't know whether she was mad at him or herself for their earlier chaotic conversation, which she was keeping to herself.

The blonde barely made his way over. He giggled madly. "Heeeey, Iruka-senshei!~" He sang.

"Oh good god, the dobe _is _drunk..." Sasuke said, palming his face. Tsunade glared at her fellow blonde. _That brat th__inks he can get drunk, at a wedding, without telling me?  
_

"Y'know, Kiba really sucks at drinking. I'm not even drunk ye-WHOA!" He yelled. Lee, now completely hammered, had fallen back out of his chair from a single sip of sake, causing Naruto to trip over the intoxicated Green Beast of Konoha.

The Kyuubi vessel fell face-first into Tsunade's still wide-open cleavage. Everyone at the table gawked at the two blondes.

"Sho shoft..." Naruto muttered, not realizing how much trouble he was in. Tsunade gently put her glass down, and cracked her knuckles.

"Oh boy..." Iruka said quietly. Sasuke shielded his eyes.

Sakura felt her eyes well up again. _All I can do is cause him pain...look at him...he's drunk, and about to get killed by Tsunade-shishou..._

"You damned BRAT!" The Hokage yelled, picking up Naruto by the scruff of his neck and punching him in the face.

He flew across the room, but was caught by Kakashi who observed the whole thing. Naruto was now unconscious, and the copy-nin frowned at him. _Naruto...you've handled so much...can you handle this?_

After saying his goodbyes, he left, carrying Naruto on his back.

Sakura watched her two teammates leave.

* * *

Naruto cracked his eyes open, and immediately regretted the decision. He felt as though his eyes were on fire, and someone was smashing a brick into his skull. He noticed he was donned only in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.

He sat up, groaning in pain. _Fucking hangovers...what happened?_

He looked around, and noted he was in Kakashi's apartment. _What the hell am I doing here?_

He looked to the side table and saw two notes, a glass of water, and some aspirin. He took the pills and downed the water, sighing in relief of his quenched thirst, then read the first note.

_Naruto,_

_There's food in the fridge. Tsunade-sama said you have a week off. Try to...not wallow in your own misery, kay? :)  
_

_-Kakashi, your wonderful teacher  
_

It was then yesterday came back to him. _Sasuke and Sakura-chan's wedding...I got drunk. Fuck!_

He sighed and picked up the other note, freezing when he recognized the hand writing. He remembered his and his pink-haired love's conversation yesterday, and bracing himself for the pain, opened the letter.

_Naruto..._

_I'm sorry. For everything.  
_

_That night we shared...it did mean something to me. I don't want you to think I just used you...after...what happened during it, I felt guilty. So guilty, it consumed me.  
_

_But now I'm married to Sasuke-kun...and we love each other. Our honeymoon is tommorow.  
_

_Perhaps when I return...we can talk about everything, and finally get some closure for us.  
_

_I don't think we can remain friends, though.  
_

_Once again, I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you. I hope you can forgive me.  
_

_-Sakura  
_

Tears fell from his eyes, splattering the page. _I don't think we can remain friends...are you joking?_

He wasn't ready for Sakura to leave his life. Not yet. He _needed _her to become Hokage, just as he needed all of his precious people. Even if not as a lover, he still wanted her friendship. _I fucked up. Big time._

Naruto clenched his fists, crumpling the note. "God damnit..." He muttered, his resolve and his dreams shattering.

He couldn't help the cry of anguish that escaped his lips as his buried and forgotten emotions washed over him.

She was gone. Out of his grasp forever. She was Sasuke's now. _They're probably off fucking in some fancy hotel..._

He slammed his face into the pillow and screamed, letting out all of his emotions.

She was never his. Always Sasuke's, forever Sasuke's. _Even after all the shit he pulls, she still loves him...and I'm just forgotten like a used toy._

He sat there, crying for what seemed like hours. His mask had fallen; he allowed himself to be selfish for once in his life and just think of him, and only him.

Naruto thought of her and everything he loved about her. It made him feel even worse. Her short, shoulder-length pink hair; her critical, yet gentle viridian eyes. Her body was nothing short of amazing.

Her personality was his favorite feature; determined, passionate and hot-headed, though still maintaining caution.

He tilted his head out of his pillow, gasping for air. His eyes were numb, and he sniffed loudly, muttering curse words under his breath.

Naruto already felt exhausted mentally. He closed his eyes, trying to will away the pain. His sage training helped when he needed to focus on something.

Right now he was focusing on not going insane from the mixture of jealousy, sadness and heartbreak welling up in his gut.

A few short minutes later, he fell into a dream filled sleep; images of Sakura yelling at him, going on dates with her, laughing together, training together and being with eachother clouded his mind.

Kurama frowned, and realized one thing. _He needs to get over her._

* * *

A/N: BLAH

how was it this time? Hopefully moar angsty. I kind of rushed the end of it...I have an outline of every chapter done (well most of em anyways.), and endings always screw me up.

Next chapter: Forgetting Sakura Haruno (if you get the movie reference, +5 internets for you.)

I'd appreciate any tips/advice! this is my first time writing actual drama and romance (apart from my other miserable escapades in this genre), so hopefully I can improve on that.

review plox. and have a fantastic day!


	2. Forgetting Sakura Haruno

A/N SECOND CHAPTER, YEAH!

AND GOOD LORD PEOPLE, there shall be no children-birthing in this fic.

Thank you for all the kind reviews; those who guessed the movie reference get FIVE internets each.

and SRSLY, those who are using the guest feature to review, MAKE AN ACCOUNT SO I CAN PM YOU AND RESPOND FEIFAJEIFUNAEWSFNIERNAW.

enjoy both the chapter and your internets. oh, there's naru/ino in this chapter, and in coming chapters as well; just casual stuff, ofc. this IS a naru/saku fic, believe it or not. (hurr hurr, u c wat i did thar? baleev ett!)

also watch out for my terrible sex scene I'm throwing in here. good god, I blushed like a fiend when I wrote it.

OH AND WHOEVER WAS NAMED 'ANON' AND GAVE ME THAT EPIC REVIEW, THANK YOU SIR. along with everyone else, once again. :D

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 2 - Forgetting Sakura Haruno**_

* * *

Naruto awoke once more, feeling groggy. His face was numb, and the hangover was still present.

The blonde picked up the crumpled note that Sakura wrote him, and reread it over and over. _She thinks we can't be friends anymore...we haven't been friends for years._

He groaned, and got out of bed before shuffling to the bathroom.

One look in the mirror disgusted him. _I look like shit...and feel like it too._

He took a quick shower, washed his face and brushed his teeth a couple of times. Satisfied with his cleanliness, he walked out of the bathroom, and padded down the hallway to the kitchen.

After delving through Kakashi's surprisingly well-stocked fridge, he made a giant feast, consisting of bacon, eggs, toast, ramen, ice cream and brownies.

_Well, might as well eat my sorrows away. _He thought, before digging into the food.

A good half hour later, he was stuffed and lying in bed again, staring at the ceiling. Naruto was never good at keeping his emotions under wraps while alone, and he started to feel the now-familiar ball of jealousy, sadness and a bit of anger well up within him.

He felt discarded, useless and lonely.

Kakashi walked into the room to see Naruto staring blankly at the roof with his arm draped over his head. The copy-nin frowned at his old student. _He's...not taking this well._

"You alright?" He asked. Naruto merely grunted in reply, not shifting his gaze.

Kakashi sighed and walked back out. _He needs a distraction... _He thought, before poofing away to parts unknown.

Kurama frowned at his vessel from within his mind. _**"Kit, come into the seal. I want to talk with you."**_

Naruto obliged, closing his eyes, and reappearing inside his mindscape. Thanks to their new bond as friends, it was no longer a dreary sewer and jailed cage. It was now a sunny, blue skied green meadow.

The Kyuubi was transformed into a small version of himself as Naruto lied down in the middle of the meadow. He curled up beside his vessel, his nine tails swishing silently behind him.

"What did you want to talk about, Kurama?" Naruto asked quietly as he watched the 'clouds' roll by.

_**"Naruto, forget about the Haruno. You're starting to make my own existence unpleasant. If not for me, then for yourself."**_The demon fox said, resting a paw on his partner's shoulder. Naruto looked into his crimson eyes, sighing.

"I can't. I've loved her for...how long now? I can't just up and forget everything...everything we've been through. What we've said, done...just..." The blonde trailed off sadly.

_**"Have you ever tried?"**_The Kyuubi asked, and Naruto froze.

It then hit him; not once in his life had he ever tried to get over Sakura. There were many reasons; one was he never gave up. But now that wasn't an option. She was married; they would never _be_.

"I...haven't."

He saw the Kyuubi grin. _**"Well, then, why don't you? I'm not concerned nor familiar with the mating rituals of humans, but why don't you spend your week off going on 'dates' or what have you? Perhaps you can find someone more suited to your desires."**_

The blonde sighed. "But Sakura-chan is Sakura-chan...angry as her actions make me, I love her...and probably will forever. I don't want to live a life of lies and say I love another when I don't. That's the whole reason it will never work with me and Hinata. I can't give her the love she wants to give me."

Kurama scoffed, and laughed mirthlessly. _**"Love...what a troublesome emotion. Just because you go on dates doesn't mean you have to love the person. Hang out with other girls, get to know them. Who knows; you may fall in love with another along the way."**_

Naruto thought for a minute. "I guess so..." He replied reluctantly.

**_"It's not like it will be hard; you have a whole village of girls who would be more than willing to spend their time with you. I'm...worried about you, as hard as it is to say. As we both know, I feel your emotions. It baffles me that you can feel this and keep on going. I'm not telling you to instantly forget your feelings. Just...live a little."_**

"Thanks...Kurama. For everything." Naruto said. His Bijuu merely patted his shoulder, before he was thrust out of his mind.

Naruto stood up, and got dressed. He stood at the door to the apartment_, _sighing. He opened the door, and locking behind him with a spare key Kakashi had given him, hopped onto the rooftops and traveled to his own home.

He walked in, slamming the door behind him. His mind was reeling. _Why did Sakura have to do this to me? _He thought in frustration, slamming his palms into the wall that adorned the hallway he was standing in. He didn't know what to think or do, and within minutes, he was on his soft, comfortable bed, drowning in his misery.

* * *

It had been a miserable three days for Naruto Uzumaki.

After sitting in bed for a few hours, he decided to do something about his gradually accelerating depression.

He had gone on ten dates with ten different girls; yet all of them went terribly. They all ended up being fangirls only interested in his prestige and, now, money, and they all had the emotional range of a brick. He couldn't help but compare them to the lively, passionate and generally fun nature of Sakura. _She's probably off fucking him right now...bastard probably can't keep his hands off her. I certainly couldn't..._

Naruto strolled calmly down the street, trying to clear his mind of the pink-haired girl that held and crushed his heart unintentionally. The waves and greetings he was getting from the villagers alleviated his mood a little.

He walked by the Yamanaka flower shop and froze when he saw the platinum-haired blonde sitting at the register, resting her chin on her palm and looking utterly bored. _I wonder if Ino will go out with me? Can't hurt to try.  
_

Naruto walked in, and the door chimed. Ino looked up, and raised an eyebrow when she saw her fellow blonde. "Naruto? What are you doing here?"

He walked over and hopped up onto the counter. "Just felt like stopping by." He said, though his voice wavered a bit. In truth, Ino was one of four women that scared him; the others being Tsunade, Sakura and his own mother.

Her gaze narrowed, and her brows knitted together. "What do you want, Uzumaki?" She questioned, not having any clue as to why he was sitting there.

He smiled. _Time to work that Uzumaki charm. _"What do I want? I want to take you out."

"Take me out? Like...on a date?" She asked, perplexed. He nodded enthusiastically.

"I've gone on dates with a bunch of girls and so far they've been..." He trailed off. "Terrible?" She supplied.

"Yeah. And, yeah. I wanted to see if you wanted to get dinner tonight...or whatever, you know. 'Cause I think your pretty...wait...uh..and smart...?"

She giggled at his inexperience. "You're not so good at this, are you?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"Well, pick me up at seven. And Naruto..." She started, and he looked at her, cocking his head.

Her gaze saddened when she saw pain in his eyes. "You still love Forehead, don't you?" Ino asked, and he looked down, frowning. He slightly nodded, staring at his feet before looking up.

"I...don't want you to think I'm using you or anything. It's just...I've loved her for _so _long...I never really spent the time to know other girls." He admitted. She placed her hand on his, smiling.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just have some fun tonight."

Naruto smiled at her before leaving. As soon as he walked out, the hollow feeling of dread filled him again. He palmed his face as he walked to his apartment. Talking to Ino helped, but he still felt absolutely terrible.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he knocked on Ino's apartment door. He glanced down at what he was wearing; a pair of black jeans, a button-up t-shirt, and his shinobi sandles. _I hope this is the right thing to wear..._

The door opened, and he slightly gawked at her appearance; she was wearing a tight, light green t-shirt, a miniskirt and black heels.

"Dude, you're drooling." Ino teased, and he blushed, wiping his mouth. He stood there awkwardly, and she smirked and took his hand before they set off.

"So where are we going? Ichiraku's?" The platinum-haired blonde asked. Naruto glanced at her. "Nah. Unless you want to, we're going to the new resturant that opened up by the academy."

"Good. I like ramen, but it's not exactly a fit place for a date, y'know?" She said as they continued walking at an easy pace.

The two chatted until they got to the place; Naruto found it very easy to talk to Ino. She was laid back, cheerful and exuberant.

After getting seated, Ino observed Naruto's appearance. _Damn, he looks good. But...his eyes...they're pained. He must still be taking the marriage pretty hard..._

Noticing her critical gaze, he cocked his head. "Something wrong?"

"No. Not really, anyways. Listen, Naruto..." She started, and the tone of her voice made him nervous. He had an inkling suspicion she was going to bring up an unsavory topic.

"About Forehead...you should, you know, talk about it to me. Vent your feelings out. I went through what you're going through, once...I know how much it hurts. It helps to talk about it." She said lightly, gripping one of his now clenched hands from across the table.

The food arrived at that moment; the waitress smiled softly at the young 'couple', before shuffling off.

"What is there to say, Ino?" Naruto said as he absently picked at his bowl of ramen.

"How...do you feel?"

"Like I'm dying. It feels like there's a hole in my gut that will never be filled. I miss her. I just...I feel like I'm losing my mind." He admitted, palming his face.

"I felt that too...with Shika. But...I'm over him now, and we're better friends then we were before." At the word 'friend', Naruto started to chuckle humorlessly.

"Sakura doesn't want us to be friends anymore because she doesn't want to 'break my heart'. She already did, and we haven't had a decent conversation in years...ever since..." He stopped himself, his gaze growing distant, which perplexed Ino.

"Ever since?" She prodded, and he shook his head.

"I...don't want to bring it up. At least...not in public." He promptly scarfed down the meal, waited for Ino to do the same, and dropped a wad of cash onto the table when the bill came a few minutes later. His emotions were bubbling to the surface.

The two walked out. "Want to come to my place, then we can talk more?" Ino asked, and Naruto nodded, biting his lip.

They arrived at her home, and walked inside. Ino closed and locked the door behind them, glancing at the clock on the wall; it was almost 10:00 PM.

Naruto's legs gave out and he collapsed on the couch, fisting his hair as Ino went to grab some drinks. She came back with a few bottles of sake, and she popped them open, handing one to the blonde. He accepted it gratefully, taking a long swig of the alcohol, reveling in the feeling the warm liquid gave him as it went down his throat.

"Now...what _happened _between you two? After the war ended...we all noticed you guys drifting apart." The Yamanaka said, leaning back and sipping on her drink. He looked at her, his eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I...I mean we..." He struggled to find the words; he hadn't told a soul about that event, but a mixture of his grief, jealousy, anger and the sake running through his system was loosening his lips.

She raised an eyebrow. _It must be pretty important...I wonder..._

He exhaled his stress, took another swig, and stared her dead in the eyes. "We slept together. After the war." He said simply, though his voice was laced with pain and venom.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. _She slept with him? So that's who...it all makes sense now._

"What...how?" She questioned, and he sighed. "I almost died near the end...and I guess she was really worried, so she just kissed me. One thing led to another..." He trailed off, and his fellow blonde nodded in understanding.

"Wait...why do you sound like it's the most disgusting ever to happen to you?" Ino suddenly asked, and she noted his eyes darkening, and his brows furrowing.

"When we...you know..._climaxed_...she..." He swallowed thickly. "She called _his _name. Not mine. I guess she was just pretending I was him..." Ino gasped in horror, and quickly pulled him into an embrace.

"Oh my god, Naruto...you poor guy...I can't even imagine what that must have done..." She whispered.

"I want...I want to hate her so bad, but I can't." He said quietly, returning the hug. Her heart twinged at his words. _He doesn't deserve that._

He pulled back, sighing. "After that...our friendship was basically non-existent. It was too awkward, especially after...you know." The Kyuubi vessel said sadly. He downed the bottle of sake, and reached for another one.

Ino did the same, and their hands touched. Naruto was about to chuckle nervously, until he met her gaze once more.

Something drew the two together; be it the sake, the strong emotions both were feeling, or some strange mixture of the both.

Their faces drew close, and before either could think of what was happening, their lips crashed into each other. As her lips moved on his, Naruto could tell Ino was _very _experienced.

He timidly cupped her cheek, not knowing what to do. He felt her smirk against him, and felt her tongue push into his mouth. He jumped a little when it began to probe around, but regained his senses and battle the slick muscle with his own.

The two made out for what seemed like forever, and finally the need for air arrived. They pulled back from each other, flushed, and breathing heavily. She stood up, grabbed his hand, and led the dazed jinchuuriki to her purple colored bedroom.

She pushed him onto the bed, a seductive smile on her face. He gulped. The alcohol was affecting them now; it was all a blur to the blondes as their clothes were stripped and their kissing continued.

His lips trailed off over hers, down her jawline and onto her neck. She mewled in pleasure when he found her pulse point and suckled on it lightly, pressing his chest to hers.

Ino's fingers danced across his chiseled skin. _How have I not jumped this baka's bones before?_

His hands found their way to her voluptuous breasts; he carefully fondled them for a while, toying with their soft mass.

Referencing a volume of Icha Icha he had read the previous year, he stopped his pleasurable abuse of her neck, and latched his lips onto one of her nipples. She gasped and arched her back.

Suddenly, Naruto was flipped onto his back, Ino straddling his waist and lightly grinding her sex onto his. He gave her a questionable gaze. "I like to be on top.." She said, her voice laced with every sin imaginable.

They both groaned at the friction. She lifted herself up on her knees slightly, before gripping his member and positioning at her entrance. She winked at him, before plunging herself onto his length.

Naruto bit his lip to contain the moan that would have escaped. _Damn...she's tight!_

"H-holy fuck, Naruto...if I'd have known you were this big, I would have..ugh...fucked you sooner." She moaned into his ear as she leaned down, pressing her breasts to his face as she began to hop up and down. He took one in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the bud.

The moonlight trickled through the window, elluminating the two partners as they thrust onto each other. A thin sheen of sweat glistened in the glow, creating a euphoric scene.

Naruto gripped her hips, timing his thrusts with her descents. He felt a familiar ball of pleasurable release build up in his lower half, but ignored it.

"O-oh shit...you're so _tight_, Ino..." He said, unable to contain himself. He could feel her tighten around him gradually as she pounded their pelvises fiercely together.

Tired of being dominated, he flipped them over, surprising the Yamanaka. He braced himself, his palms on either side of her head as he locked her into a lustful kiss, thrusting into her hard.

"Holy...I think..." Ino started, but Naruto began to drive into her faster, causing her words to vaporize into mewls that gradually grew louder.

The tightness intensified, and Ino felt her abdomen light up like a bonfire. She screamed in pleasure, gripping Naruto's back in desperation as he orgasm washed over her.

Her inner walls clamped down on him, and it became his undoing. He grunted his release into his ear, and collapsed onto her body. They both began to catch their breaths, and Naruto pulled out before rolling over.

The two stared at the ceiling. "Wow..." He breathed; the sake was all but gone from his system, and glancing over at Ino, could tell it passed for her as well.

He began to feel guilty; for what reason, he didn't know. Catching his fallen expression, she gripped his hand, and smirked. That washed away his worry, and the hollow feeling in his heart was mended slightly.

"Round two?"

* * *

Naruto awoke sore, exhausted and yet, better than he had felt in months. His mind played over the memories of the previous night; the date, confessing his problems, sleeping with Ino.

He felt almost disgusted with himself; he had practically used her, even though she led most of it.

The blonde breathed in, and the air smelled of bacon and other breakfast foods. He glanced around the room, and spotting his froggy boxers, pulled them on before walking out of the room.

He arrived to see Ino dressed in his shirt and a pair of panties, placing two plates of breakfast on her table. She looked at him and smiled.

"Sleep well?" She asked, and he nodded, before taking a seat at the table.

The two ate in comfortable silence, before Naruto looked up. "Listen, Ino...I...didn't mean to _use _you last night.."

She held up her hand. "Relax. I'm not looking for a serious relationship, and something tells me you needed that. If you keep doing what you did last night, I won't mind you using me." She added with a wink, which caused him to blush fiercely.

He sighed in relief as he chugged down a glass of orange juice. "So...are we like...dating, or something?"

Ino lightly shrugged, taking a bite of toast. Her platinum-blonde hair was messy, which only added to her allure. "Yeah, sure. More like fuckbuddies, but dating nonetheless."

"Fuckbuddies." Naruto repeated quietly as he looked out the window; Ino went to her bathroom to shower and get dressed.

His regrets were squashed by his feelings. _This is exactly what I need; just a casual relationship...just to take my mind off of her._

* * *

A/N: oh jeeze, was that at all good? D:

writing smut is so embrassing, man. it's pure awkward-sauce.

anyways, hope you enjoyed! Alot of you requested naru/ino for the plot, and hopefully this quenched your thirst, so to speak.

next chapter: Friends with benefits; the party (not original, i know. jeesus.)

the whole ANBU plotline is coming after this.

review pl0x. :D


	3. The Party

A/N: YEAH! third chapter, finally. It seems like I'm sort of releasing these at four-day intervals, but we'll see how that goes.

Thanks to FicsRLulz for betaing/looking over this chapter! :D

enjoy! Mainly a filler chapter; shits starting to heat up.

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 3 - The Party**_

* * *

Naruto was lying in the middle of the training grounds on the soft, green grass; the sun was shining overhead, and barely any clouds were in sight.

He felt, for the first time in a few years, genuinely at peace with himself. The dull heartache in his chest was still there, and he dreaded the moment his teammates returned from their week off, but he still felt good.

It had been four days since his relationship with Ino had began, and he loved every second of it. She was exactly what he wanted and needed, and she felt the same about him, if he was reading things correctly.

He had split his time between being with her, and training himself to the bone. He would summon no less than five hundred clones, battle them and remake them until he was utterly exhausted, then pull himself together and repeat the process.

The blonde heard footsteps approaching, and glanced over to see his silver-haired sensei walking over. The copy-nin knelt down next to his student, looking at him pensively. Naruto knew that the jounin was aware of his feelings towards their female teammate, and he sighed.

"Hey, Naruto. How's it going?" Kakashi asked. Naruto smiled genuinely, shocking his sensei.

"I'm doing good, sensei. Better then I was before." He replied quietly, shifting his gaze back to the pure, baby blue sky.

"Oh? Why's that?" The jounin asked, deciding to plop down next to the blonde. The cool wind rustled both of their messy, gravity defying hair, creating a calming atmosphere.

"I'm...in a relationship with Ino, I guess. We're mostly just having sex, but we talk a lot too. It's been helping." He admitted bluntly, a slight crimson glow appearing on his cheeks. Kakashi's eye opened wide in shock. _My cute little genin..._

"You move on fast." He suddenly remarked, but Naruto shook his head, exhaling slowly. "No. I haven't moved on. At all. It's just...she distracts me. I think she's in the same kind of situation, as well. It sounds fucked up, but we're sort of...using each other."

"That kind of relationship could end poorly, Naruto." Kakashi warned, but said jinchuurki shrugged. A flock of birds flew over head, and Naruto watched them fly by as he thought of his next words.

"It's nothing but casual. Like I said, it sounds weird that we're just _using _each other. Using sounds too harsh...it's more like mutually beneficial, no strings attached sex." He said. By now, Kakashi had a perverted smirk under his face. _Naruto, you're pretty lucky._

The blonde pushed himself up with his palms. "Anyways...I still feel terrible because of...you know. I've been training and training...but..." He trailed off, and Kakashi patted his shoulder.

"It's a tough thing to overcome. I...was in love once. But that's a story for another time. Listen, go to the Hokage's office tomorrow morning. We have a little offer for you. I can't say anything now, but you'll find out then." The copy-nin said, running a hand through his hair as he stood up. He nodded his goodbye, before poofing away in a plume of smoke, leaving a very curious Naruto behind.

* * *

Near the gates of the village, a young couple walked towards their home slowly, hand in hand.

Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha were returning to the village after their rather eventful honeymoon.

The medic-nin was giddy; it was all she ever dreamed as a little girl. She glanced at her raven-haired lover, and saw that he was still his usual stoic, emotionless self.

But something left a slight pang in her heart; her blonde haired idiot of a teammate. His heartbroken and angry face from their conversation a week prior was burned into her memory. She definitely _needed _to have that talk with him.

She felt guilty, too; she had lied to her husband. She lied to Sasuke when they were lying in the fluffy, silky bed, about to make love. He had asked her if it was her first, and she said it was. Sakura had repressed the memory of her time with Naruto, and didn't want to bring it up, especially not with Sasuke.

The pinkette also felt terrible for leaving Naruto in the dust like a used toy; she was well aware of how much she hurt him. She desperately wanted to patch things up with him, but she didn't know how at this point.

Sakura knew going back to being friends with Naruto would be next to impossible, at least at that point in time. _Perhaps in a few years, we can all be friends again...like before._

Sasuke gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I'm going to go home and shower. I'll see you later." He said, and she smiled at him as he walked off.

The pinkette walked down the street for a few minutes, admiring her village and it's inhabitants. She smiled at a few of the shopkeepers she had grown to know; she had missed Konoha.

It was then she passed by the local flower shop and saw the blond girl inside. Sakura smiled at her best friend, and walked in. The door chimed, causing Ino to look up, and a smile to spread across her face.

"Forehead! You're back!" The voluptuous Yamanaka exclaimed, rushing up to the pink-haired girl and embracing her.

Sakura returned it, grinning. "How are you, Ino-pig?"

Ino smirked. "Oh, _you know_..." She replied, her voice sultry. Sakura's eyes widened a little; she knew that tone all too well.

"You got another boyfriend, didn't you?!" She questioned, earning only a wink from her fellow kunoichi. The curiosity bubbled to the surface, and suddenly Sakura got an idea, something she was planning on bringing up anyways.

"Hey! We should set up a party tonight! All the rookies and Gai's team! We can all catch up, at say, seven?" _And then I can settle things with Naruto...and find out who Ino is dating!  
_

Ino's eyes lit up. "Sounds like a plan! I'll let everyone know! And I'll bring _him _along." She said, before the two delved into the 'juicy' details of the pinkette's honeymoon. As Sakura explained it all, it caused Ino's thoughts to drift to Naruto, and a slight frown formed on her face. _Naruto...I wish I could help you get over her. If you heard this..._

* * *

After talking to Sakura, Ino decided to pay Naruto a visit. She knocked on the door of his apartment, and heard some shuffling inside. A loud bang, followed by a slew of muffled curse words, caused her to giggle. The door opened, revealing a disheveled Naruto, wiping his shirt of dust.

"Ino! What's up?" He asked, leaning against the door way. He noticed a smirk on her face, and that meant one thing; she was planning something.

"You. Tonight. Party. Everyone's going to be there." She said, before pushing herself into his home, ignoring his yells of 'invading his privacy'.

The blonde calmly walked into her 'boyfriend's' bedroom, scowling in disgust at the mess, but delved into his large dresser and disorganized closet.

He walked in, frowning. "_Everyone?_" He questioned, before sitting on his surprisingly soft bed.

He noticed her expression darken. "_They're_ back. She stopped by today, and we talked..."

"Was...was she happy?" Naruto asked quietly. Ino froze in her search for a suitable outfit for her fellow blonde, and met his gaze.

"Yeah. She really was." She replied sadly, and Naruto looked down. _At least someone is...I wonder what happened during this week...  
_

His curiosity got the better of him. He was someone who didn't like things being kept from him; he despised secrets, and could tell Ino knew much about this particular topic.

"What...did she say happened?" He asked reluctantly, fearing the answer.

And with good reason.

Ino told him everything she had said; about their stay in the hotsprings, what they _did_, how _happy _it made Sakura feel. By the end of the story, Naruto was seething, and the tension was palpable. Naruto was in the now-familiar swirl of anger, envy and heartbreak. The two relieved said tension the only way they knew how, and it resulted in a noise complaint, a cracked wall and a broken bedframe.

* * *

At 7:00, the party was in full swing; they decided to book the local bar and club for the night.

"So, Ino, who's this guy?" Tenten asked, taking a sip of her drink as her eyes darted to a certain Hyuuga prodigy, who was playing beer pong with Kiba, Lee and Shino.

"You'll see." The blonde replied. At the table was her, Tenten, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata and Temari, who Ino was trying her best not to glare at or hate.

Suddenly the doors opened, and three figures walked in. As the light hit them, it revealed Sai, Naruto and Chouji. The Kyuubi vessel fiddled with his shirt; it felt too tight, especially in the heat of the club.

Naruto's eyes glanced around the room; the music was loud, and he could spot a few people dancing. His eyes landed on the table of kunoichi, and his breath hitched in his throat when he saw a pink-haired woman talking to a lavender-haired Hyuuga.

_Oh shit._

He went to the bar to order a drink, clenching and unclenching his fists, before a familiar voice called him. "Naruto! Over here!"

Said jinchuuriki glanced back to see Ino waving at him, and the other shinobi looking at him curiously. He got his drink, and slowly walked over, avoiding the green pair of eyes staring at him.

Naruto plopped down in the seat next to Ino, his eyebrow raised as he sipped on the alcohol. "What's up?" He asked.

"Oh god...don't tell me, you're _dating _Naruto?" Tenten asked, completely amused, snickering to herself.

Hinata coughed on her drink, her pale eyes wide in terror. _Don't tell me it's true? Naruto-kun... _She had always thought Naruto only had feelings for the pink-haired girl she was just speaking to, not five minutes ago. The Hyuuga saw right through Naruto's forced, pained smile at the wedding, and seeing him like that had horrified her.

Sakura froze, her eyes wide. She didn't want to explain the slight constriction of her chest, though she blamed it on her old rivalry with the Yamanaka. She glanced at her blonde teammate, who was blushing slightly, staring at his drink. _You already moved on..?_

"Nah, not really...we're just..."

"Fuck buddies." They said in unison, shocking eachother. They grinned and high-fived, laughing.

Hinata's heart clenched, and she looked down, her lip quivering. She glanced up, and looked at her blonde love. She noticed that his smile was strained, and he was looking everywhere but the two Uchiha's sitting at the table. It all clicked in her mind then. _He's still not over her..._

Naruto's laughter stopped as he glanced at Sasuke and Sakura out of the corner of his eye. His heart clenched when he saw the loving gaze she gave to the Uchiha.

For an unknown reason, his thoughts drifted to two years ago, when the two had the infamous encounter in the Land of Iron that shook the foundations of their friendship for the worse.

_What I said Naruto, is that I love you!_

_With you...I can be close like this. You make me feel safe...right now, from the bottom of my heart, I-  
_

_I hate people who lie to themselves!  
_

"Naruto!" A voice yelled, snapping him out of his daze, and they looked to see Kiba approaching, a grin on his face. He slapped Naruto on the back.

"Man, I haven't seen you in forever, Uzumaki! Not since we got drunk at that wedding!" The Inuzuka exclaimed. The mention of the ceremony caused Naruto's heart to plummet, and his face fell a bit.

"Haha, yeah. I've been busy." He said, shaking his head of his previous thoughts.

"Hey, want to play some pong? You'll need a partner." Kiba asked. Naruto nodded, too happy to get away from the table's inhabitants, and stood up as Kiba walked back to the game. The blonde glanced back.

"Ino, let's show them how to play." Naruto said in a forcefully amused tone, and Ino caught it, smiling. She stood up and the two walked over to the others.

Sasuke watched Naruto walk away with a girl who he, up until five minutes ago, had thought was still infatuated with him; it confused the Uchiha greatly, as she had never shown any interest in the other blonde before.

_When the hell did the dobe get with Ino?_

He then noticed his tense expression lessen the further he got away from the table, and saw his wife staring at Naruto sadly. _Something must have happened between them...does he still hold that childish crush on her?_

For once, Sasuke didn't understand his blonde comrade.

* * *

A few hours later, the party was getting wild. The group were fairly intoxicated, and many of them took to the dance floor, where the music was intensely loud, and the lights were shining brightly.

Naruto was leaning against the wall next to Kiba and Sai, watching their friends dance the night away.

The blonde watched his two teammates all over each other, his heart clenching in envy. Oh, how he longed to be the one to be close to Sakura like that, running his hands along her finely sculpted body, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, placing his lips on hers in a heated kiss...

He shook his heads to clear those thoughts from his head, downing a shot of tequila. _I need to find Ino._

After about five minutes, he found her, sitting down on the floor next to a nearly passed out Chouji, giggling madly.

She looked up, and met his pained cerulean gaze. Her expression softened, and she shakily stood up.

"She getting to you?" Ino asked, earning only a nod. She glanced over his shoulder to see the couples grinding, and she smirked. _Let's show them how to dance._

She took his hand and led him to the dance floor, before promptly turning around and rubbing into him. A tipsy grin appeared on his face as he grabbed her soft, luscious hips, and the two danced.

While Naruto was distracted, Ino took a look at Sasuke and Sakura, who were now sitting at the bar.

Sakura watched in something akin to jealousy as her old rival danced with her teammate. She observed how much fun they were having; how _happy _the two looked. She glanced at Sasuke, who wasn't looking at anything in particular. Dancing with him was fun, but neither of them had the magnificent grins that the two blondes held.

She desperately wanted to communicate with Naruto; it was eating away at her slowly. She could still see it in his eyes; the pain, the longing. But Sakura was at a loss; how do you go about telling the man who has been in love with you for over six years that they need to get over it? _With my luck, I'll just end up hurting him more...what do I do?!_

* * *

Naruto awoke, groaning in pain as a massive headache assaulted him. _What the hell happened last night?_

He glanced around, noticing he was somehow still in the club. He pushed himself up off the floor with his hands. _Oh...I got drunk. Again. But I don't remember anything too crazy happening..._

The only people still present were Ino, Neji, Lee and Sai, all passed out. He remembered Lee getting a sip of alcohol and preparing to go on a rampage, only to be dive tackled and knocked unconscious by the majority of his friends.

Naruto walked to the bathroom, and went to the sink. He grimaced at the sight of his greasy hair, and bagged eyes. He splashed some cold water on his face, sighing in relief at the wake-up it provided him.

He suddenly remembered Kakashi's words from the previous day; he had a meeting with the Hokage to get to. Leaving his passed out friends, and making sure they had access to water, he left the club.

He winced at the brightness the morning sun provided him with, and carefully walked down the street to the Hokage's office.

After arriving and giving a greeting to the rather friendly and bubbly receptionist, he jogged up the stairs, and knocked on the door when he arrived.

A muffled 'come in' signaled his permission, and he opened the door. He saw Kakashi and Yamato there, both looking at him sternly. Tsunade had her fingers interlocked with one another, and was resting her chin on her hands, giving him the same stare that his two teachers were gracing him with.

"Erm...what's up?" He asked nervously, and the tension was thick in the room. "Smarten up brat. I presume Kakashi has told you of an 'offer' of sorts?" Tsunade asked, her voice showing no amusement.

A nod from the blonde allowed her to continue. "Very well. Despitemy better judgement concerning your behavior at the wedding last week, I want to offer you a promotion."

Naruto simultaneously saddened and lit up. "A promotion?" He asked.

"Here is where you have a choice. This is the deciding factor if you want to become Hokage. Your efforts in the war, and saving Konoha, have brought you great praise, but you still need more experience. You are _still _a genin. But that can be alleviated." Tsunade said, before pulling out two folders. Naruto walked carefully to the desk.

"This folder contains the forms that will grant you Tokubetsu Jounin rank; your duties will change from being an active duty shinobi, to teaching individuals with larger-than-normal chakra reserves how to control it, and techniques that utilize those reserves." She stated, pushing forward the folder on the right.

Naruto scratched his chin. He loved teaching people; Konohamaru was his pride and joy. He had taught him the Rasengan, which was a feat he was proud of.

"What's the other one?" He questioned, gesturing to the second folder. He noticed their gazes becoming even more serious.

"That's your application to the ANBU Black Ops." Tsunade said, and Naruto had to force his jaw _not _to drop.

In previous years, he had always thought of the ANBU as just people who didn't want to be noticed or seen. But as he lived on in the dangerous shinobi world, he found that the missions he always did paled in comparison to the ones he heard the ANBU doing.

They were the best of the best in Konoha; they were elite killing machines that commanded a large amount of respect. They were the ones who took the most difficult, demanding and mentally staggering missions.

"We want you to make this choice carefully, Naruto. The ANBU is a _very _serious deal. It's not just a mask and a tattoo. It's a commitment, and a way of life." Kakashi said, crossing his arms. Naruto swallowed thickly, and catching his nervousness, Tsunade chuckled lightly.

"You don't have to decide for another week or so. Take your time, mull things over, and make the choice when you can. It's a life-changing decision." She said simply, and they left it at that. Naruto bowed, before walking out of the office, running a hand through his hair. He heard the door open behind him, and saw Yamato walking towards him, a smile on his face.

"So...what are you thinking of choosing?" The Mokuton user asked as he matched Naruto's pace. The blonde sighed, and caught a whiff of his breath. _I'm a mess._

"I'm not sure...I mean, I'd love to teach people, but then I'd be stuck in the village most of the time, not doing missions. But then, the ANBU..." He trailed off. He didn't know much about the organization.

Naruto glanced to Yamato. "What do you guys _do _exactly?" He asked. His teacher chuckled. "Well, that's classified. The reason not many people know or think about black ops soldiers is because that's the way we want it to be. The ANBU are anonymous, cold-hearted, emotionless shinobi."

The jinchuuriki swallowed thickly. Yamato patted his shoulder as they exited the building. "If you choose ANBU, it will be a very rewarding experience, and no doubt, would cement your ascent to Hokage. But...you will be asked, and forced, to do things that regular shinobi don't. You _will _have to kill, you _will _have to torture. But it is _all _for the benefit of Konoha. Can you handle that?"

The blonde was about to speak, but his senior shut him up. "Think it over. I'm not leaning towards one or the other here, but...with your situation with your teammates, the ANBU would be an escape." He said simply, before walking away.

Naruto looked up to the sky. "ANBU, huh?" He asked himself, before walking home.

He needed a shower.


	4. Shattered

A/N: I'M SORRY.

agh, I hit major writers block for this chapter, not to mention school has been on my case.

hopefully this isn't a dissapointment.

WARNING: PREPARE FOR FEELS. lots of feels.

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 4 - Shattered**_

* * *

A loud knocking caused a blonde haired man to fall out of his bed in his sleep.

Naruto blinked rapidly, trying to remember where he was. _Ah. Home._

He picked himself up, not bothering to put a shirt or a pair of pants on over his boxers, and walked to his door where the loud knocking was coming from. He opened, and met the one-eyed gaze of his long-time sensei.

"Ah, Naruto, did I wake you?" He said cheerfully, causing the blonde to glare and mumble under his breath.

"Get dressed. We have a training exercise today. The Hokage wants us to brush up on our fighting and tactics; we haven't really done that since the war."

"We?"

The jounin sighed. "The team. As in, all of us. Can...you handle that?"

The blonde exhaled sharply. "Yeah. I'll meet you there." He said, before closing the door. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked back to his room to get dressed.

_**"Kit? You alright?"**_The bijuu sealed within him asked. Naruto mentally shrugged. _I've been better. But I feel as though I can handle being around them now. Ino really has helped alot._

The Kyuubi said nothing back, and Naruto, now fully clothed in his black and orange jumpsuit, stood in front of his door. He scratched the back of his head, a nervous ball filling in the pits of his stomach. He didn't want to see either of his teammates at this moment. Things were finally looking up for the blonde.

_Better sooner then later. Let's get this over with._

* * *

Naruto walked slowly to the training grounds, where not six years ago they became a team. He looked up to the sky and sighed deeply. He missed the innocent days, full of wonder and fun. When the only things he had to worry about was ramen and his crush on Sakura.

He exhaled his stress when he arrived, and saw Kakashi talking with the two other squad members. Naruto tensed when he overheard them speaking.

"So, we're already thinking of names, even though we're waiting for Sasuke-kun to become a jounin. I also want to go deeper into my medical career."

"Yeah. But doesn't stop us from...you know." Sasuke said slyly, winking at a blushing Sakura.

Naruto grit his teeth, _hard_, when he heard what they were talking about. He walked up to them, and gave a small, half-hearted wave when they glanced at him.

"'Bout time you got here." Kakashi said, and the blonde merely shrugged stiffly.

"Okay. Since we're all pretty rusty, being out of combat for the last two or so years, we're going to separate into teams of two and practice using all of the shinobi techniques, just like the bell test. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and weaponry." The copy-nin said.

They all smiled in excitement, even Naruto. There was something about fighting that he missed; the thrill of it, the distraction it made from his emotions. It had been far too long since his last fight; training against clones didn't compare to real combat.

Sakura stole a glance at the determined blonde. _That's it. We're going to have that talk today._

"So, me and Naruto against Sasuke and Sakura. That should work out kindly." Kakashi said happily, choosing not to put Naruto with the either of the others, before tossing a bell to each of his former students.

"The goal is to get the other teams bells. No restrictions, besides the Kyuubi's chakra, of course. We start now...go!" He yelled, before they jumped into the trees.

* * *

Naruto was panting heavily; he lost track of Kakashi, and was under heavy attack from his two teammates. His back was against a tree, and he could hear them approaching.

For some reason, combat had a calming effect on him; he wasn't facing Sasuke and Sakura, the causes of his heartbreak and growing frustration, anger and dislike. He was facing an enemy, like any other. That thought comforted him.

The comfort didn't last long.

Suddenly, the tree cracked behind him, and he leaped forward, rolling onto his feet as the bark snapped in half. Sakura stood there, her fist stretched out. Sasuke was right behind her, a smirk on his face. The tree fell onto the ground with a loud crash, shaking it slightly.

Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow, and stood up, before he strafed around the two. His mouth twitched upwards slightly; he was happy he could still enjoy things like this.

"Shinobi skills number two: Ninjutsu!" The blonde yelled, before creating a dozen clones and forming two rasengan in his palms. The clones engaged his teammates, who began to fend them off.

He jumped towards them, rasengan first, and barely scraped them when they hopped out of the way. The jutsu collided with the forest floor, disintegrating the earth and mud.

A large plume of dust covered the area, and Naruto quickly backed out of the twin craters he made. His back hit a tree once more, and his eyes snapped around the area.

_Kaka-sensei, where the hell are you?_

"Hn. Dobe. You're forgetting another shinobi skill." A voice he knew all to well sounded from above. He glanced up to see the two Uchiha standing on a large branch.

"Shinobi skills number three: Genjutsu!" Sasuke exclaimed, and Naruto made the mistake of looking into his eyes.

His breath caught in his throat as his vision blurred, and the world faded.

* * *

_He opened his eyes to see a very naked, very sweaty Sakura Haruno below him. Confusion hit him when he realized his body was moving on it's own._

_It was then he realized this was a memory; a memory of his night with the pink-haired medic-nin.  
_

_"Angh! F-fuck, Naruto!" The girl beneath him moaned as he thrust in and out of her.  
_

_He didn't want to watch this; he didn't want to relive this. He desperately tried to move his hands, to form chakra, to do anything. But his body didn't even twitch to his commands.  
_

_His eyes moved on their own as they scanned the contours of her pleasure-filled face, her creamy white chest, and their connected sexes. A particularly hard thrust caused her to mewl in pleasure; the sound was both amazing and horrifying to Naruto.  
_

_"Y-you're s-so tight, Sakura-chan!" He said without wanting to. This was pure torture; it was then he felt everything, as if it all was happening again. Both the physical and emotional.  
_

_He suddenly leaned down, and covered her mouth with his, muffling her moans as he continued to bury himself into her warmth.  
_

_He remembered wondering briefly why she had entered his tent so late; why she had given him an unreadable look. Why she hugged him suddenly, how that hug grew into a kiss, and how that chaste, first kiss grew into shed clothes and the loss of both of their virginities in one, single motion.  
_

_The two locked gazes and it felt as if time had slowed down. He had only dreamed of doing this; now that it was reality, it felt amazing. Not only with pleasure, but mentally as well. He was making love to the Sakura Haruno. The only girl who has ever captured his interest.  
_

_As he felt her walls tighten around him, a feeling of dread filled him. He knew exactly what was coming next.  
_

_"Agh...S-sakura-chan...I'm going to..." He trailed off as her nails dug into his back, only increasing the sheer amount of ecstasy he was feelings.  
_

_"S-sakura-chan!" He cried out as his release overtook his senses. She became unbearably tight, and quivered around him as her body convulsed with her own orgasm.  
_

_"S-sasuke!"  
_

_The pleasure was gone, completely. He felt numb. He stared, horrified, at her face, which was mirroring his own.  
_

_He tried to form words, but none would come out. He knew this feeling well. He felt stupid. Stupid for letting his lust and love for the pink-haired girl mess with his judgement.  
_

_He pulled out of her, ever silent, and put on his clothes. The Kyuubi had already healed most of his injuries from the last battle, so he deemed it safe to leave.  
_

_He glanced back at her saddened gaze. "I get it." He said stiffly, before walking out, a slew of negative feelings clouding his mind. He felt betrayed, used, gullible and broken. She had broken him.  
_

_Suddenly, the world faded once more..  
_

* * *

His eyes shot open, and he breathed in the cool, morning air harshly. Judging by the positions of his teammates, only a few seconds had past in the jutsu.

The stress and pure emotional torture from the genjutsu caused him to immediately double over and vomit.

"Wh...what kind of genjutsu was that?" Sakura asked Sasuke quietly as Naruto finished his wretching.

"It shows the victims worst nightmare, or worst memory. Whatever it was...must have been pretty horrible to cause _that_." He stated.

The blonde was still panting. A wetness on his cheeks informed him he must have been crying. He wiped the tears, and shakily stood up.

"That was a rough illusion, teme!" He tried to call cheerfully, but to no avail. His voice cracked, and he wavered as he walked towards them.

They jumped from the trees, looking at him in worry.

He suddenly made another batch of clones, and charged at them through the forest. Their eyes widened as another onslaught of Naruto's attacked them.

Sasuke impaled a black and orange blur with his sword, while Sakura decked one in the mouth with a chakra laced punch. Two plumes of smoke erupted, followed by six, then a dozen.

The real Naruto was running through the trees, towards Sasuke, who spotted him and began doing handseals.

As the signs were complete, Naruto's mind suddenly exploded with emotion; her moaning of the Uchiha's name repeated in his head, and his footing slipped. He could only watch in awe as he fell onto his stomach, and as a large fireball flew towards him.

He clenched his eyes shut and expelled a blast of chakra from his body, slightly nullifying the ball of flames. He was still scorched a little, but nothing too severe. He heard them yell his name and rush over to his prone position. He rolled onto his back, and stared wistfully at the pure, blue sky.

"Here, Naruto, let me heal you." Sakura said as he knelt down next to the smouldering blonde. She was about to run through the hand seals for her medical jutsu, but he stopped her.

"No." He said plainly, sitting up, ignoring her protest.

"Naruto, sit still!" She said angrily, her brow furrowing as she attempted to push him onto his back. A growl emitted from his throat.

Sasuke watched with shocked interest; Naruto had never refused healing before. The two bickered back in forth until Naruto finally had enough.

"Get the fuck off of me, Sakura!" He yelled, pushing her back and standing up. The Kyuubi's chakra was already in the works, coursing through his body to heal his slight burns.

Two years of pent up anger, sadness, and misery were overflowing in his mind. The genjutsu had brought up everything he thought he had forgotten; everything he thought he had healed from, mentally.

"Dobe, what the hell is your problem?" Sasuke asked. _He's never been that hostile._

"It's you! You and her! That's my god damned problem, Sasuke!" He screamed. His mind and body were numb with anger and pain. The Kyuubi tensed when he felt the emotions coursing through his vessel's mind. _He's going to blow..._

"What the hell did I do?" Sasuke asked. Sakura stood up shakily, tears welling in her eyes.

Naruto chuckled mirthlessly. "You fucking bastard. You never figured it out? Why we never talk anymore? Why I'm always so tense? Why I feel like my fucking heart has been ripped out?" He said, trying to calm his anger, but it only increased the longer he was within their presence. _Stop! Calm down before you say something you'll regret!_

"You took...the one thing I've always wanted. You always got everything; always better than me, with your prestige, and your ego, and your fucking clan." He spat angrily. Sasuke's eyes widened, now matching Sakura's viridian gaze.

The blonde then pointed at Sakura without looking at her. "You took her. You took Sakura. You've never given a damn about her, but it was always _you_."

"This is about Sakura? You're angry because of some little crush?" He sneered. Sakura stifled a gasp. _Sasuke-kun...no..._

Naruto hardened his gaze. "A crush? You think I'm so insignificant, it's a little fucking _crush_? You don't get it! It's not some schoolyard crush, I _loved _her!" The blonde said, unable to contain the pure anguish and hatred in his voice. _You're already taking it too far! Shut up, Uzumaki!_

"What about Ino, then? She's never shown interest in you, nor you her, and yet you guys are together." Sasuke said, a little shaken by his ex-friends confession of love for his wife.

"That's none of your fucking business, Sasuke." Naruto snarled, his fists shaking.

"Naruto...let's talk about this..." Sakura started, but was cut off by the most angry, heartbreaking stare she had ever seen.

"Talk about this? Talk about what, Sakura?! There's nothing _to _talk about, you made that very clear when you used me like a fucking toy and then jumped into that bastard's arms right after!" _Stop! Think about what you're saying!_

"Sakura...what...does he mean?" The Uchiha asked warily. Sakura swallowed thickly. "It's...it's..."

"Oh, you didn't tell your precious Sasuke-kun what you did to me? You broke me in ways that not even Orochimaru could think of. And then, after completely ruining me, you have the audacity to say that _we _can't be friends anymore, two years after the fact!" He breathed, panting heavily. Naruto was finally calming down, and realized that he could possibly break their marriage with the information he held.

A part of him, deep down, desired to do just that. To cause them pain, suffering and sadness. His more animalistic side, the one that held that spark of lust for the pink-haired girl, wanted to claim Sakura as his own. But he wouldn't do that. Not in a million years. _She's used now. She would never want me, anyways. I'm used.  
_

"I...we...I..." Sakura stammered, her face a ghostly pale. Her chest constricted with guilt.

The blonde shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. Not that it ever did." His hate and jealousy over-powered any sort of affection or friendship he had for the two Uchiha's.

They were stunned into silence. Sasuke watched his wife practically break down in what appeared to be guilt. _What happened between them?_

He had caught her somewhat longing and sad gazes at their blonde teammate, but always thought it was because they weren't as close as they were before. It was clear to Sasuke now that something important must have happened between them. _Used? The hell does the dobe mean?_

"Kaka-sensei, I know you're up there." He said suddenly, causing the jounin to jump down from the tree.

He had a solemn look under his mask, and a frown was evident on his face. Naruto fumbled for something in his pouch, and pulled out a small bundle of papers.

He handed it to Kakashi. "I resign from Team 7. I can't be around you guys anymore. I'm sick to _death _of forcing a smile whenever I shouldn't." He said, his voice filled with distaste.

They knew now; Sasuke and Sakura now knew that their bonds with Naruto were shattered, along with Team 7. A pang of guilt invaded both of their minds; the pure anguish on their blonde teammate's face etched into their memory.

He began to walk away, but in a last ditch effort to save the team, they called out.

"Naruto! Wait! We can fix this! Just stay on the team!" Sakura called out desperately. She knew it was a mistake to call off what remained of their friendship. She knew she would miss Naruto.

He turned back, his gaze impassive. "Why would I want to be on a team with people I hate?" He snarled, before turning away, leaving his beyond horrified team behind. The words cut deep into Sakura's heart, and she didn't even try to cover the tears. _I did this. I'm a fucking despicable person._

A thousand thoughts went through Sasuke's mind, and he became overwhelmed. He didn't know what happened between his two teammates; why Naruto was so heartbroken, why he would say he hated them. For once, Sasuke didn't know what to think as guilt clouded his senses.

Kakashi sighed silently, glancing back and forth between his two remaining teammates, and the blonde walking away. He had a feeling something like this was going to happen. _It was only a matter of time before he blew up. I just hope he makes the right decision..._

Every step he took, Naruto felt a small pit of regret build up within him. _I really, really shouldn't have snapped like that._

But no; he thought he could handle it. Thought he could handle burying his emotions like a good little shinobi, grit his teeth, and force a grin while his former best friend and the love his life were all lovey-dovey with each other, and acting like nothing was wrong.

Sasuke's genjutsu proved that he had some serious unresolved issues. He was holding onto and repressing too much. That needed to be fixed.

* * *

He slammed his apartment door behind him, cursing rapidly under his breath. He paced around his living room, his mind reeling.

Naruto remembered when, and how, he brought the Uchiha back. After his assistance in killing Madara and Obito, and after realizing that they were the one's that caused the Uchiha's cycle of hatred and eventual downfall, Sasuke still wanted to kill Konoha's elders and top brass.

The two male genin of Team 7 fought once more at the Valley of the End. Their exchanged fists allowed them to realize each other's ideals. Sasuke then knew that his brother was right all along.

Naruto was no longer fighting to bring Sasuke home for Sakura. The fight took place a year after his encounter with the pinkette, at the end of the Shinobi World War. The two hadn't spoken. Naruto was fighting to bring his friend back, nothing more, nothing less.

After nearly collapsing of chakra exhaustion, the two finally, after five years, came to an understanding. Sasuke agreed to return to Konoha, but only thanks to a promise from Naruto that, when he became Hokage (and he _was _going to become Hokage), he would deal with the elders personally.

So the last Uchiha returned, and after some heavy coaxing from the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, he was set free, under a strict probationary period of six months. His pardon was granted under the excuse of temporary insanity, due to the combined effects of Itachi's genjutsu, Orochimaru's cursed seal, and overuse of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The two were fairly close; they trained, ate and hung out together. Their female teammate was overtaken by her hospital duties, however, and she wasn't able to spend as much time with them, which Naruto was more than fine with. He didn't want to see her.

There was always that nagging voice in the back of his head, that told him that he should be upset; should be _angry _with Sakura. But he understood quite well; he always had understood her. Hell, _he'd_ almost had sex with girls before, just to alleviate some of the hurt of not having Sakura.

So he buried his feelings towards the pink-haired Kunoichi, and was happy. For a time.

It was then, a few months ago, Sasuke decided it was high-time to start reviving his clan. So he chose the one girl who still had a flame for him in her heart.

When he heard of their engagement, the blonde sage fell into a deep depression. He had always counted on Sasuke never returning Sakura's affections to keep him going. What a mistake that was.

The blonde stopped reminiscing and sat down on his couch. Tears fell down his cheeks, once again.

But they weren't tears of sadness, or heartbreak. They were tears of anger. He was frustrated, and pissed off.

"How..could they do this to me?!" He yelled to no one in particular, fisting his hair.

He then realized something; his last words to his teammates were true. He hated them. He had never felt such a distaste, such an _despised _feeling towards another human being.

But they left him in the dust, just so they could go live happily. Sure, Naruto should be happy for them, and in a strange, fucked up way, he was. But for once, he felt like being selfish; their happiness was at the cost of his own.

He had never felt this way before. And sitting there, on his old sofa, emotions coursing through him, he came to another revelation. He _liked _the feeling of being angry.

And that scared him.

Naruto sighed deeply, his stress exhaled out of his body. He suddenly remembered his meeting with the Hokage, not two days before, and the offer she had made him.

He glanced out the window. He could become a Tokubetsu jounin, and help teach a batch of stamina-freaks how to use their chakra. He would have to stay in the village, where practically everything reminded him of his ex-teammates.

Or he could be a faceless ANBU Black Ops soldier; an emotionless tool for the Hokage to use as she sees fit. He would be able to leave the village, most likely on long term missions, engage countless enemies, and get a significant pay raise.

A smile crept on his face.

He had made his decision.

* * *

A/N: BUT WHAT DECISION DID HE MAKE?

fail-cliffhanger.

ugh, I hope you guys enjoyed! this was a messy one to make.

I've written ahead a little; writing an ANBU scenario is surprisingly fun. I'm tempted to do a stand alone fic, minus the angst, with more action.


	5. Confrontations The Decision

A/N: Whoop. Done this chapter. Many thanks to everyone who reviewed, and to FicsRLulz for betaing once again :D.

This is the last chapter in this 'arc'! :D

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 5 - Confrontations; The Decision**_

* * *

Naruto knocked on the Hokage's door gently. A voice called him in, and he turned the knob.

He walked in; Kakashi and Yamato were, somehow, already there. A slight smirk was on Tsunade's face. Her golden blonde hair shone in the morning sun that poured into the main window of the office.

"So, I guess you came to a decision?" She asked, earning a stiff nod from the blonde. He walked over, glancing at the two folders she had laid out.

He picked up the one on the right. "ANBU." He stated simply. Kakashi and Yamato tensed, and Tsunade's face grew serious.

"Are you positive? This is the most important choice in your entire life. Once you're in; you're in for good. At least until your probationary period is over." She said.

His eyes became determined. "For sure." He said. With the approval of his Hokage, Naruto opened the folder and began filling out to forms.

A half hour and an aching wrist later, he was done. "Take off your jacket; I'm going to give you the tattoo that marks you as one of our Elite." Tsunade said, and he complied. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her as she pull out a small scroll.

After reading through it a couple of times, she lifted up the short sleeve that covered his right bicep, ran through a half-dozen handseals, and pressed her palm onto his arm.

He hissed a little when he felt the burn of the ANBU symbol being engraved onto his skin, but said nothing.

"There. You're a member of Konoha's best and brightest. Naruto, from here on out, you are to be secretive; stealthy, silent. I know that contradicts with your loud and proud nature, but-"

"I know. These past few months...hell, these past _years _have really taught me that I can't be loud and proud anymore, and that emotions aren't things for the battlefield. Don't worry. I'm _very _serious about this." He interrupted, his face determined and unyielding.

The three elder shinobi allowed themself to smirk, an image of a 12 and 16 year old Kyuubi container running through their minds. Naruto had changed, but for better or for worse, they couldn't tell.

"You begin training with us tomorrow, Naruto. Unlike what most people believe, we aren't just special forces. We are _the _forces. The regular shinobi get missions that are high profile and come with large profits for the village; they allow us to execute our strength, and promote our village in order to get more missions." Yamato started. He was leaning on the wall, his arms crossed.

"But then there's the ANBU; we're the ones that do the dirty work. And you _will _get dirty. You _will_ kill, you _will_ torture, you _will_ live and breathe the mission. Everything we do is under direct orders from Hokage-sama. We do the things that directly benefit the village and that alone."

"Kill?" Naruto asked, a little unnerved at the idea of ending another's life. They nodded.

"Of course. ANBU isn't sunshine and lollipops, Naruto. It's something you'll have to deal with and overcome on your own. Like we said...you're in for good." Kakashi stated.

Tsunade then pulled out a scroll, and bit her thumb to draw some blood. She swiped the liquid across the seal on the object, and it popped open with a plume of smoke.

Naruto walked over, and his eyes gleamed with a strange sort of happiness when he saw what the scroll contained. A standard ANBU uniform was there; it contained a pair of knee high shinobi boots that had cleats on the soles of them for rough terrain, a few pairs of pitch black, loose fitting shinobi pants, a few sleeveless turtleneck shirts and a grey armored vest. Also, there were a pair of fingerless, plated gloves, much like Kakashi's, and silver forearm bracers.

Tsunade then pulled out a large, grey cloak, and a rather magnificently crafted sword. It's hilt was black with stylized orange stripes; it lacked a cross guard, and was relatively straight. A small ruby was embedded at the bottom of the grip, and it sparkled slightly in the light.

"Wow..." He said, taking the blade from Tsunade's hands and ripping it from it's sheath. It was flawless; stainless steel and sturdy.

"I had a hunch you were going to choose ANBU, and had this made for you. Treat it well."

Naruto suddenly remembered something. "Erm, don't ANBU members wear masks?" He asked.

Tsunade then pulled out a featureless, smooth, white ceramic mask. "All ANBU inductees don't get an animal mask until they complete training.

He bowed in gratitude, almost shocking his superiors with his manners. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He said, barely containing his smile.

"Take your stuff and get out of here, brat. You start training tomorrow. You're not a cute little genin anymore. You are a shadow of Konoha; a true shinobi."

He bowed once more, giving a nod to his new team members, and left swiftly; he had to stop at his home to drop off his stuff, and he was deserving of a little celebration with a certain blonde kunoichi.

* * *

The blondes rolled off of each other, panting heavily, the pleasure of their releases slowly fading from their bodies.

"_Wow._" Ino said breathlessly. Naruto chuckled lightly as he regained his breath.

They stared at the ceiling as they came off of their high.

"So, I talked to Sakura and Sasuke yesterday..." Naruto started, and he felt Ino turn to look at him. He glanced at her, and saw her expression was that of shock and worry.

"How...did it go?" She asked slowly, a frown on her face, her icy blue eyes staring deep into his own cerulean. He sighed.

"I sort of lost my shit, screamed at them and said I hated them." He admitted, and to his surprise, she smiled. "That's a _good _thing. It means you're already moving on...sort of." He made a noise of agreement, and shifted his gaze back up to the ceiling.

"I think I meant it too...after everything they've put me through, I just hate them _so _much, it's almost consuming. It's more anger than sadness, now, whenever I think of them."

Ino felt her heart swell in happiness. She had grown to care a great deal for Naruto; the fact that he was showing signs of finally moving on from Sakura meant that he was getting closer to finally being happy.

"You know, I heard that Shika and Temari are fighting a lot lately. They barely see each other, but when they do, apparently things get nasty." Naruto suddenly commented, smirking. Ino frowned, and her eyes glinted.

"That whore can have him. Shika broke my heart; I don't really care what happens to him now. I still...care for him, but now..." He nodded in understanding.

"Hinata's been asking about you. I feel really guilty...I mean, she _adores _you. You could be with her, you know..."

Naruto shook his head. "I've thought of that before. But...I don't want to give her a part of my heart when most of it is still with _her_." He said in disgust. "Hinata is a nice girl, and I _do _love her...just...not like _that_. Besides, there are other people who are more deserving of her affections then me..."

"You mean Kiba?" She laughed suddenly. "Dog-breath is actually capable of love?"

"We all are, Ino. I can sympathize with Kiba though. I almost feel bad. But at least Hinata doesn't hit him for every idiotic thing he does." Naruto said, rolling his eyes. Ino giggled slightly.

He had placed a small genjutsu/henge combo on his bicep so the tattoo was invisible, and as she lightly traced it with her finger, he wasn't worried. He suddenly felt sad.

His ANBU training was going to take up almost all of his time, and if what he heard about the training was true, he would be too exhausted at the end of the day for any personal things.

He turned to face her once again. "Listen, Ino. I'm going to be training extensively for the next few months...possibly even a year. I...don't want you to wait around for me. I won't have any personal time to myself, so we're rarely going to see each other anymore."

She mock pouted. "Are...are you breaking up with me?" She asked in feigned hurt.

He caught on, and smirked slightly. "It's not you, it's me, sweet Ino-_chan_."

She pecked his lips, and a sly grin slid onto her well-sculpted face as she flipped him over to straddle his waist. "One more time, for the road?"

* * *

Sakura Uchiha walked down the main market road in Konoha, deep in thought. The conversation with Naruto a day earlier unnerved her and made her see reality.

She had questions; if Naruto was in love with her like he said he was, why was he with Ino? Why was Ino, who last she heard was smitten with Shikamaru, 'fuckbuddies' with Naruto?

So the pinkette decided to head over to her best-friend's place of business. She arrived at the Yamanaka flower shop, and glanced inside; sure enough, a beautiful blonde woman was inside, chewing a piece of gum absently as she flipped through a magazine.

The pinkette entered; the door chimed in a familiar tune, and Ino looked up.

"Sakura? What's up?" She asked as the medic-nin walked over.

"Just came by to chat. How's it going, Ino?" She said nervously, fidgiting slightly.

The blonde raised a brow, but didn't bother pushing it. "It's been good. I'm a little sad and disappointed, but life is alright, I guess." She said, running a hand through her hair.

"Sad?" Sakura questioned. Ino huffed.

"Me and Naruto...er...broke up." She said awkwardly; explaining this to the girl your ex-boyfriend is in love with was a strange situation. Ino gauged her long-time friend and rival's reaction; her expression changed from shock, to anger, to...relief?

"Why did that happen?"

"He said he was going to be doing a lot of training for a while; we wouldn't have any time to spend together, so he didn't want me waiting around for him."

"I see...I've been meaning to ask you, why _did _you get with Naruto?" Sakura asked. Ino merely shrugged.

"Friends with benefits, in all reality. He asked me out on a date, it was surprisingly fun, and things just...happened. It was nice while it lasted; the sex was fantastic." She said, smirking evilly at Sakura's flustered expression.

"Pig! Don't...talk about things like that! He's my teammate, you know..."

"Yeah, it hardly seems like that, though..." Ino muttered under her breath, but Sakura heard.

"What was that?"

"I said it hardly seems like you guys are playing on the same team."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sakura, hun, you don't even realize what you did to him, did you?"

The pinkette froze. There was no way Ino knew about _that_. _Did Naruto tell her? He wouldn't...would he...?_

"You broke him, Forehead. Broke him in ways I can't even begin to imagine. Everyone knew he had a thing for you, but the kid _loved _you. What you did to him...calling out Sasuke-kun's name during _that..._ I don't even want to think about what he truly feels."_  
_

Sakura was shaking now. Ino's words struck a cord in her heart. She had thought Naruto was hurt by it, but he bounced back from it like he always did. She now knew that was a selfish and ignorant thing to believe.

She had to pull up a stool and sit down so her legs wouldn't give out. "Did...did he say..anything else about me?"

"He said he hated you; you and Sasuke. I can tell he's confused. He still loves you, I think, but the jealousy and anger is overwhelming him."

Sakura sniffled. She absolutely loathed causing Naruto any pain, but that's all she seemed to ever do. Ino grasped her hands gently, trying to comfort her.

"Forehead, you have to remember, Naruto has had a tough life, and he's lived it all with smiles and happiness. He's never truly been selfish, and now that it isn't an option to _not _think about himself, he's going through a rough experience."

"Ino...what have I done? All I can do is hurt Naruto...and now look what I've done. I love Sasuke-kun, and because of that...I've hurt him so much."

"Do you _truly _love him?"

Sakura froze, her eyes wide. No one had ever questioned her feelings before. A slight feeling of doubt sprung up in the back of her mind, but she nodded her head.

"Of course I do. It's just...I've always been guilty about being mean to Naruto as a kid, and ever since then, ever since I've started being nice and trying to make amends for all of that, all I seem to do is just cause him more pain." Ino wasn't entirely convinced. After everything Sasuke had done to Sakura, the Yamanaka had a hard time believing that she still loved him unconditionally. But she decided to let the matter drop.

"Naruto is a very forgiving person, Sakura. Just...give him some time. You should know that he doesn't hold grudges for long. Though...I think this may be a serious thing. Also...I suggest telling Sasuke about you and Naruto."

Sakura paled, and even more guilt began to build up. "I know...I don't know how he's going to react, though."

Ino gave her friend a comforting hug, then pulled back. "Go home, take a shower, and fix your problems, Forehead. God only knows you need to do just that."

* * *

Sakura was sitting at her kitchen table, drumming her fingers rapidly on the wood.

She had fucked up. Big time. She could clearly see that now. She felt so bad, so _horrible _because of the way she had treated Naruto, she didn't know what to do with herself. Her conversation with Ino only cemented the fact.

She was married to _the _Sasuke Uchiha; she should be happy.

So why was she so upset? _Because Naruto is upset._ Her inner sounded. _We care for him more than we realize. _

Sasuke walked in, rousing her from her musings, and went straight for the coffee maker. She chose to complete ignore what the inner version of herself just said, and she watched her husband's back nervously, chewing her bottom lip. The guilt of lying to Sasuke was slowly eating away at her.

A pressure was building up in her chest. She had to relieve it. She had to tell him. It was becoming too much.

She opened her mouth to say something, but the raven-haired Uchiha beat her to the chase.

"So, Sakura, what did Naruto mean yesterday? What _happened _between you two?" He asked, setting down his mug of coffee. He noticed her tense expression, and her regret filled face.

She exhaled her stress, and looked him dead in the eyes. "We slept together." She said quickly. He heard the words, and felt like the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

"You _what?_" He exclaimed, his eyes uncharacteristically wide. He couldn't fathom what she had just said.

"Two years ago, after the war...we...slept together. I lied about you being my first. I'm...sorry." She said, not only to Sasuke, but to Naruto, wherever he was.

She heard Sasuke sigh loudly.

"You slept with the _dobe_? Why?" He asked carefully. He could tell she was beating herself up over it, or something _about _it.

"I...don't know..." She whispered, palming her face with her hands.

"That...fucking..._bastard_..." Sasuke growled. She looked up to see him shaking in anger.

"He _used _you, and gets angry about it? Who does he think he is?!" He yelled in anger. Sakura paled at what he was getting at.

"No, Sasuke-kun, you don't get it!" She started, but he was already heading to the door. "I'm going to kill him." He snarled, before rushing out of the door.

* * *

Naruto walked to his door, frowning. Someone was banging, _hard_, on it. He walked up to the thing, pulling a shirt on over his head, and opened it.

His eyes narrowed when he saw an angry Sasuke and a worried Sakura behind him.

"What?" He spat. He was suddenly forced into the wall. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled in shock.

Naruto glared even more at his ex-best friend. "What the _fuck _do you want, Sasuke?" He asked coldly. He was previously enjoying a nice cup of ramen; _this _intrusion put a stop to his good mood.

"You fucked her?" He replied, his voice icy.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, before they narrowed, his brows furrowed. "Take your fucking hands off me." He snarled.

"_Did you fuck her?_" Sasuke pressed on, applying more pressure with his arm to Naruto's neck. The blonde's fingers twitched.

"I swear to fucking god Sasuke, if you don't let me go, I won't hestitate to rip your throat out." Naruto said darkly, his voice level yet it reinforced the threat.

The Uchiha released him, which proved to be a mistake; in an instant, Naruto had him pinned to the ground, his knee in Sasuke's back and arms.

"Listen to me. You stay the _fuck _away from me. I never want to see you again. To answer your question, yes; we slept together. But that doesn't matter." He stated, not bothering to glance at the pink-haired woman.

He exhaled sharply when Sasuke finally stopped struggling. "If it makes you feel any better, she called _your _name. Now get the fuck out of my sight." He said, picking up Sasuke and literally throwing him out the door. Sasuke landed on his feet, his face that of shock. _She called...my name?_

He was amazed at how much Sakura liked him, and was quite surprised by it, but on the other hand, he felt horrible. He couldn't even imagine what Naruto must have felt like, given the knowledge that he loved her. Without another word, Sasuke left, leaving a saddened Sakura and scowling Naruto behind.

He spared a small sideways glance at Sakura, but said nothing as he closed his door.

His back hit the wall as he slid down it. He combed a hand through his hair. "Well, this is just fucking wonderful..." He muttered.

* * *

Naruto didn't know how long he was sitting there for; he didn't like how easy it was for them to rile him up.

He was cut off from his musings by a light knock on his door. He glanced at the clock on his wall; he was shocked to see an hour had past.

He pulled himself up and opened his door. He sighed deeply when he caught the familiar head of pink hair in his gaze.

"What the hell do you want, _Uchiha-san_?" He asked bitterly, not feeling like yelling any more. She flinched at his lack of the '-chan' suffix. It felt wrong. Along with the formality of the name.

"I want to talk. May I come in? Please?" She asked softly. He scratched his cheek and glared at her. He was exhausted from arguing; Naruto was never a hateful person, at all. But his ex-teammates made his blood boil.

He reluctantly let her into his apartment, closing the door quietly behind her as they walked into his living room. It was a mess; his fit of depression and anger caused him to not really care for his home's cleanliness.

The two sat down on his sofa, and looked at each other. "What did you want to talk about?" He asked calmly. She noticed his clenched fists, and frowned.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry." She started. He exhaled loudly, and leaned back. "You've already apologized. Multiple times. It doesn't change anything."

"No. For _everything_, Naruto. Including _that _night. I understand.."

"You _understand_? You understand what you did to me? Sakura, you fucking _ruined _me. Imagine, the person you've loved and sacrificed so much for, calling out another's name while you're together. Now, _I _understand that you had needs. You used me. I _get _that. But that didn't mean you had to fuck me and pretend I was Sasuke."

"Naruto, you have it all wrong! I didn't pretend you were Sasuke, at all! I thought of _you_, and only you! I gave you my first time, damnit!" She yelled, getting angry.

"In case you've forgotten, that was my first time, too. Hell, I hadn't even kissed a girl before that night. So don't give me that shit." He snarled. Her eyes widened.

"If you didn't pretend I was Sasuke, then why? _WHY?!_" He exclaimed, his eyes welling up. He was so _frustrated_, so completely _upset_, that he didn't know what to do with himself.

"That night...I don't know why we slept together. Maybe it was because you were hurt, and I was worried...I didn't even think. That's why Sasuke-kun's name slipped out; it was an accident. I didn't mean anything by it..."

He scoffed. "That doesn't change that it happened."

She reached over for his hand to try to comfort him, but he flinched. "Don't touch me."

She nodded, and bit her bottom lip. She then looked at him. "I don't really think that night was a mistake."

He grumbled. "Well, I think it was. How can you _not _believe it was mistake? It happened for no reason. You had no feelings for me. You've made that very, _very _clear over the years. And I'm done with it. With you, with Sasuke, with Team 7. In truth, I was never happy with that team. Maybe in the beginning, but it was always the same shit." He started, his anger slightly rising.

"And I meant what I said yesterday. I _hate _you. I despise you both so _fucking _much I can barely stand to be in the same room as you. So don't come here and say your _sorry _just because you feel a little guilty. You _should _feel guilty."

Her words got caught in her throat as she tried to hold back a sob. His words _stung_. She couldn't comprehend why his hatred hurt her heart so much, and made her feel like throwing up.

He then laughed mirthlessly, his blue eyes reflecting only scorn and rage. "Why do you even _care_? You have your precious Uchiha. I made it clear yesterday I want nothing to do with you two. So _why?_" He questioned.

"Because I _do _care. Naruto...you're a precious person to me. I don't enjoy hurting you, but that's all I ever do!" She yelled, standing up. Tears were cascading down her cheeks.

Some part of him wanted to comfort her; wanted to hold her, and tell her it was alright. Those thoughts were promptly subdued and replaced.

"Get out. You say you care, you say you don't like hurting me, but I don't want to hear it. I'm saying this now; I'm _done _with you, with Sasuke, with everything to fucking do with you two. Leave." He said as calmly as he could.

He winced slightly at how hurt her expression was. She nodded dully, and solemnly walked out of his apartment. He heard the door close quietly, and he let out a huge groan.

He had to put this all behind him; team 7, his dwindling feelings for Sakura, and his hatred for the two. He was in ANBU now; he had begun a new chapter in his life. One that didn't involve pink-haired girls or arrogant Uchihas. He was getting closer to completing his remaining dream of becoming Hokage.

With that thought, he buried all of his emotions; the love, the anger, the jealousy.

From that day, Naruto was never the same.

* * *

A/N: Finally got Naruto out of that hole of depression.

A warning: from now on, it's going to get dark, violent, gritty and messy.

I hope you guys enjoyed! Next chapter will be comin' out soon! :D


	6. The Gala

A/N: Wow, this was fun to write.

Anyways, fast updates! YEAH! Look forward to the next one by the end of the weekend, perhaps? :D

This chapter will be slightly, _slightly _light-hearted, just to cool off from the five previous chapters of angsty feels.

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 6 - The Gala**_

* * *

- Five Months Later -

He hit the ground with a thud, panting harshly. His whole body screamed in pain and protest as he attempted to move, but he rested his head on the cool, damp earth, staring at the sky through his porcelain mask.

"Come on, kid. Get up." A man said. He looked over to see Genma twirling his katana around, chewing on his senbon in anticipation.

Naruto was five months into his ANBU training; every day was both a wonderful experience and hell on earth. When he began, he had instantly taken to and grasped the ideals of the organization.

He got to his knees, trying to regain control of his breath. Kakashi had Genma begin his kenjutsu training. Due to the restrictions of using jutsu as an ANBU, he had to rely on utility techniques and his weaponry. Needless to say, Naruto dearly missed his kage bunshin and rasengan.

"I...can't...go on...anymore..." He said in between breaths, gripping his own sword tightly. He heard Genma sigh and walk over. The weapon master picked his new student up, and supported him as the two walked back to the ANBU headquarters.

"Naruto, you're the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Aren't you supposed to have more chakra and stamina then anyone in the village?" He asked.

"Yeah...but Baa-chan, er... I mean, Hokage-sama altered the tattoo; it's also a seal for masking my chakra. If I was to go on missions, we would be found instantly. Anyways, the seal cuts my chakra by more than half, and prevents me form using any of Kurama's powers." He said grimly. He got exhausted way faster than he ever had, and was always weak at the end of the day. But, both his ANBU trainers and the Hokage said it would be good for his body to work without his normal reserves.

They arrived at the outpost within a few minutes; it was located near the Forest of Death, a little bit out of the village. After showing their identifications, they entered the large underground base.

They were greeted by Yamato and Kakashi, both donned in their ANBU uniforms. Naruto moved his featureless mask to the side of his face, a small grin on his lips. "The seal is givin' me a pain in the ass." He said.

They chuckled lightly as they walked to their living quarters. Genma set the blonde down on the sofa, and handed him a water bottle. Naruto nodded in thanks, and promptly guzzled the whole thing.

Sighing in relief, he jumped slightly when a folder was thrust into his face. "What's this?"

"A mission; count it as part of your training. There's a gala tommorow evening. Hokage-sama wants you for this." The copy-nin started, plopping himself down next to his old student. He opened the folder, revealing a whole slew of information.

"Your job is to kiss up to the Daimyo of the Land of Demons. Word is, he's carrying some highly classified documents, and he's making an exchange with a man from Otogakure. You are too make friends with him, and while you've gained his trust and we set up a...erm...distraction, you're to steal those documents."

"Oto is still active?"

"Hai. Some of Orochimaru's old subordinates have taken control of their forces; they're growing increasingly prominent. It's going to be hard to ignore them."

Naruto sighed. _Of course. After I attain peace, someone has to go and fuck it up._

"Do I have to..kill him?" He asked warily. He still had yet to experience his first kill.

Kakashi shook his head. "No. He's not a threat; nor is his contact. We don't want an international dispute on our hands. Just...keep a weapon on you, in case something _does _go wrong.. You never know."

Yamato eyed Naruto, his gaze stern. "This is a very serious mission. This could make or break your ANBU career. It will test your stealth, your dexterity and your communication skills. You will have to blend in; your old friends will more than likely be at this gala. Remember; you're the happy, chipper hero of the war. These men will want to meet you. Don't get distracted." He said, crossing his arms.

Naruto frowned. "Will _they _be there?" He asked. They both nodded solemnly. Naruto had told them of his strong dislike for his former teammembers. They understood, of course; a man can only take so much before he breaks.

"Oh well. It doesn't matter. Give my regards to Hokage-sama. I accept the mission." He said stoically. He stood up. "I'm going to go get something nice to wear for this. I'll be back later."

* * *

"Well, you certainly clean up nice."

Naruto looked past himself in the mirror to see Yamato leaning on the door frame, a smirk on his face. Naruto returned it, and adjusted his tie.

He was dressed in a pitch black suit; it had dark orange at the cuffs, and his tie was blue.

He gripped his wrist; he had a kunai stashed under his sleeve, attached to a wire that could extend and retract. He wasn't expecting combat, but like Kakashi and Yamato have drilled into his head, he couldn't let his guard go down.

Sighing, he turned back. "I hope I don't screw up..." He said, a shimmer of doubt traveling into his mind. Yamato walked over and patted his shoulder. He was wearing a dark brown suit, with a forest green tie. Both of them were still wearing their shinobi sandles.

"You'll do fine, Naruto. Just...don't get distracted by _other _things. Remember what we've taught you; breathe in and out, focus on the mission. You know how to completely remove your emotions now, but try to force a grin onto your face. No one needs to know what your are." He said seriously, and Naruto nodded.

Slapping him on the back, Yamato grinned. "Just relax. Your dates are waiting for you outside, by the way." He said with a wink, and the blonde sighed. _Let's do this._

* * *

The gala was in full swing. Many of the guests were dancing to the smooth, jazzy music one of the many hired bands were playing.

The now-famous 'Konoha 11' were sitting at a large table with Kakashi, Tsunade, Homura, the daimyo from the Land of Demons and his daughter.

"Such wonderful youth these shinobi present. The kunoichi are all very beautiful, and the men all emit a strong presence. But I can't help but feel there is one missing. Where is Naruto-san? I wish for the man who saved the world to meet my daughter." The daimyo said; his voice was gruff, and almost condescending, though it was clear he was a kind man.

"Hai. All of our shinobi are quite amazing. They have surpassed as all. As for Naruto, he should be here shortly." Kakashi said, taking a sip of his wine.

Sakura was talking to Ino when she heard Kakashi words. She didn't know why her heart decided to speed up at the prospect of seeing Naruto again after so long.

Hinata, too, was feeling jittery. After news spread of his break-up with Ino, the Hyuuga was drastically relieved. But, Naruto had disappeared. Of course, everyone had seen him and occasionally talked to him whenever he ventured to his favorite ramen stand, but no one knew where he went during his free time.

Suddenly, Kiba coughed loudly on his drink, spluttering it everywhere. His eyes were wide in amazingment. "No fucking way." He said brashly.

They all looked over to see what Kiba was staring at, and their jaws dropped.

Naruto walked into the large ballroom, a small smirk on his face. Clinging to both of his sides, his arms wrapped around their waists, were two extremely beautiful women. The one on his left had long, waist-length crimson hair. Her figure was lithe and feminine, and she had an aura of seduction about her.

The one clinging to his right had short, shoulder length blonde hair. Her figure was similar to Ino's; voluptuous and utterly enticing. A few of the men in the room drooled slightly at the sight of the women, and Naruto felt a strange sense of pride in his gut.

"How..did he manage to snag _two _of Icha Konoha's girls?" Kiba said, before blushing fiercely at the scrutinizing gazes he received afterwards. Icha Konoha was an infamous adult magazine that went into production a few months after Jiraiya's death, in honor of his absurdly popular, smut filled novels.

Sakura's chest constricted for a reason she couldn't explain when she saw the women next to her old teammate. She was dressed in a deep, crimson red dress that hugged her curves perfectly. For a split second, she almost wished she was next to Naruto. She promptly squashed that thought, a frown slowly forming on her face as she watched the blonde.

Naruto's eyes scanned the large room for his target, and landed on the table that was host to his old friends. Grinning widely, he strutted over calmly as people all over stared at him in awe.

He arrived at the table, noting there was only a few seats. He leaned down to the redhead, whispering in her ear. She giggled, and walked away, blushing slightly after he lightly patted her ass as she went to go get herself a drink. Sakura scowled at both of them, anger bubbling slowly to the surface. _Calm down, Sakura. It's just because he's being a pervert._

The other sat down in between Lee and Tenten, the former greeting her enthusiastically and giving her a thumbs up. Somehow, the woman was enticed by the taijutsu master's exuberance, and laughed at his antics as he went into a speech about her youthful beauty.

"Ah, Naruto-san, my boy! It's an honor to meet you!" The middle-aged demon Daimyo exclaimed, pulling out a seat in between him and his daughter. "Come, have a seat!"

Naruto accepted the chair, shaking hands with the man. "It's my honor, Daimyo-sama. How are things going in your nation?"

The two delved into a conversation of politics, and Naruto's friends could only stare at him in amazement as he cracked jokes one second and discussed economy and trade the next.

"I'd like you to meet my daughter, Naruto-san. She has heard much about you." He said suddenly, and Naruto turned to see a girl who looked to be about one or two years his senior. Her hair was almost black, and her eyes were a deep hue of turqoise.

"It's nice to meet you! Uh, Akari, right?" He asked, and she nodded cutely. She blushed as he grinned at her, and the two delved into a comfortable conversation.

Naruto was well aware of the stares he was getting from the others. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hinata staring at him sadly. He sighed slightly.

Akari proved to be rather knowledgeable and intelligent; after a while, she drew out of her shell and began to flirt with him.

Ino gazed somewhat sadly at her old lover. _Oh Naruto. I kind of miss those couple of weeks, where it was just you, me and a bed._ Shaking her head from those thoughts, she glanced down at the hand she was holding. It belonged to none other than Shikamaru. The Nara had broken up with Temari a few weeks after Ino's own seperation from Naruto; things, apparently, were far too troublesome for him.

Soon after, the duo from team 10 reconciled, and have hit it off on a somewhat shaky relationship; it was awkward, yet somehow brought happiness to the two.

Sakura glared at the girl, who was currently running her hands along Naruto's bicep, and her fists tightened. _Look at that whore! She's practically groping him! _She thought angrily. Unfortunately, she was holding Sasuke's hand with one of hers. The Uchiha gasped in pain, and tore his hand from her grasp, scowling a little.

Ever since she told him about her night with Naruto, and the scuffle with the blonde that followed after, their relationship has been on shaky ground. The two stopped speaking for a week after their encounter; even now, it still was awkward and uncomfortable.

Sakura was feeling the full consequences of her actions now. She missed Naruto; she missed him so much, some days she would sit in bed and cry. Cry over the memories of Team 7, of the good times with the blonde.

"Do...you want to dance, Sasuke-kun?" She asked quietly. He gave her a small look, and shook his head. "Not really. Maybe later." He replied, not taking his eyes off of Naruto. It still angered him that they hid the fact that they slept together, but it was understandable.

She exhaled, covering her frown with a curtain of hair as she stared at her lap.

Naruto exhaled deeply as the girl continued to shamelessly flirt with him. He, in all respects, had no interest in her. She was nice, and beautiful, but something about her personality seemed fake. As if she were trying her very best to become someone both he, and her father, wanted her to be.

He was somewhat happy that it was a relatively simple and non-violent mission for his training. Early on, when Naruto first began in the program, Kakashi and Yamato took a few days off to go over and discuss various strategies and tactics used in ANBU missions. He had researched and read over a rather large pile of mission reports; these weren't just average, 'go in and kill missing-nin' objectives.

They were extremely dangerous, violent and at times, sickening. The stuff that black ops soldiers had to witness during their missions, the stuff they had to _do_, sent shivers down his spine.

It made his blood boil, how disgusting and vile some people could be. Reports of whole villages being ransacked and destroyed, innocent people murdered, and young women being abused, sold and _used _were some of the things that Naruto had read up on.

He was cut off by his musing by a man going up to the stage where the band was, and tapping a microphone. "Okay! It's time for the gala to begin! This gathering is in honor of Hokage-sama, and our _very _special guest, Taichi Ozuka, the Demon Daimyo! Let's have some fun out there!" He said cheerfully, before the music began to play once again. Couples from all over began to travel to the dance floor, adding to the already numerous crowd there.

Naruto suddenly stood up. He still had some time before he could complete his objective. The sad gazes he was getting from the Hyuuga heiress were bothering him; he decided to talk to his long-time friend.

Ignoring the numerous dance requests he got from a few girls near him, including Akari, he walked around the table to Hinata. He tapped her shoulder, and she looked up, immediately blushing when they made eye contact.

"May I have this dance, Hinata-san?" He asked politely, inwardly smirking when she began to breath harshly. Her face was bright red, and she nodded. He took her hand, then led her to the middle of the dancing couples.

Sakura watched in sadness and what she now knew was jealousy, thanks to a few conversations with Ino. She had no idea why she felt so jealous and envious because of Naruto, but it unnerved her and made her feel terrible. _I have no right to feel this way. We're not even friends anymore, let alone teammates. He's on his own path. I...have to let this go._

The two arrived in the middle of the dance floor, and Naruto placed his hands on Hinata's hips as a slow, soft melody played from the musicians. She timidly wrapped her own hands around his neck, and her crimson blush had slightly died down to a still evident pink hue.

She suddenly looked up. "U-uhm, Naruto-kun...why did you ask me to dance?"

He smiled. "You looked all sad and upset, and I wanted to find out what was wrong. I don't like it when my friends are upset." He said, though he had a clear idea of _why _she would be sending him sad, longing glances. He felt somewhat guilty for hurting her, but there was nothing he could do about it.

She then looked everywhere _but _him, and her blush was gone. He observed her bottom lip quivering.

"Hey.." He said softly, and she looked up.

"I-I'm sorry. But...you k-know how I feel about you...right?" She asked, and he solemnly nodded.

"I know...and gods, I'm so sorry Hinata-san. I wish...I _wish _I could return your feelings. But I can't..."

"Do you still love...Sakura-san?" She asked. The named spiked a wave of anger in him, but he promptly buried it. She felt his hands tighten on her waist, and saw him bite his bottom lip.

He nodded once more, and she frowned. _I knew it.._

He sighed. "You shouldn't love me, Hinata-san. I don't deserve it; at all. I'm pitiful. I'm jealous, angry and full of hatred...towards people who I formally called my best friends. You deserve someone who is pure, and loyal and who loves you with everything they have."

"You're too good for me." He finished, and her jaw was slacking slightly. She had never heard Naruto sound so self-deprecating; so hopelessly _lost_.

In truth, the blonde was an expert at burying his personal thoughts now. He hadn't been bothered by feelings about his former teammates in a few months.

"Naruto-kun...I still love you...and I probably always will. Don't beat yourself up; you're a great person. You are selfless, kind, and amazing. You are only human."

"Hinata-san...thank you. But please, don't make the same mistake I did. Don't wait around...just to get your heart broken. I don't want to give you false hope. There are many other people, _good _people, deserving of your affections. They could make you happy. Once again...thank you." He said, smiling genuinely. She returned it; although it hurt that she was being rejected by him, she knew he was correct.

He sighed as the song ended. Giving her one last smile, the two went back to their table. He wanted to try a relationship with Hinata; to see if he could bring her the happiness she earned with her kindness. But he would only end up hurting her; not to mention, his ANBU training was almost complete, and he would have rarely any time to himself.

He slumped back into his seat. Kakashi gave him a subtle nod; his heart rate picked up a bit. It was time.

Ignoring the girl next to him, who was now pretty intoxicated and was practically give him foreplay, he shot a glance out of the corner of his eye at the man next to him.

Hanging off of his chair was his bag; it was a slightly unzipped, purse-like object. Naruto could clearly see a folder of documents poking out of it.

_Objective is in sight...this is almost too easy. Something feels...off._

Kakashi had taught him to trust his gut while on missions; instinct is man's greatest weapon. Something definitely felt wrong about the night, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

Suddenly, the man came back onto stage, and he was still smiling greatly. "Alrighty! I hope you all have been enjoying this night so far! It's time to cool off for a little; it's time for some shinobi Karaoke!" He exclaimed, causing everyone to burst into applause.

"First off, we have a duet by some of Konoha's finest ninja; please, give a warm round of applause for Kakashi Hatake, and Yamato!"

The crowd grew louder, and Naruto bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing. Everyone at his table shifted their attention to the stage in front of him; the daimyo leaned forward, giving him ease of access to his belongings. _This is their distraction? Hah!_

Kakashi had poofed up to the stage, and the majority of the female guests cooed; his mask was off, showing his surprisingly handsome face. Yamato stood there awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head nervously as his sempai got all of the attention.

Naruto grinned, and stood up. He whistled loudly. "Yamato-kun! You're the best!" He said in his girliest voice, causing the guests to erupt into laughter, and the Mokuton user to blush furiously and glare at the blonde.

Still laughing slightly, Naruto sat back down as the song began. They were singing _Bohemian Rhapsody _by Queen. Kakashi began first, the music extremely loud and almost deafening, though the crowd enjoyed it.

**_Is this the real life?_**  
**_Is this just fantasy?_**  
**_Caught in a landslide_**  
**_No escape from reality_**  
**_Open your eyes_**

The cguests cheered loudly as the copy-nin sang; his voice wooed nearly every woman in the audience. Naruto observed everyone at his table, all of them watching, laughing and enjoying the performance. After double checking to make sure he had no attention on him, he leaned back into his chair, and deftly reached his arm over to the leather bag.

**_Look up to the skies and see_**  
**_I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy_**  
**_Because I'm "easy come, easy go"_**  
**_Little high, little low_**  
**_Any way the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to me_**

He froze when the daimyo leaned back, and promptly retracted his hand stealthily. The man was laughing proudly, taking large gulps of his wine in between chuckles. Yamato, on the stage, gave Naruto a subtle wink as he began to sing with his sempai and long time friend. Yamato proved to be a terrible singer; his voice was off key, cracking, and his tone wavering.

**Mama, just killed a man**  
**Put a gun against his head**  
**Pulled my trigger, now he's dead**  
**Mama, life had just begun**  
**But now I've gone and thrown it all away**

The crowd was now in fits of joyous laughter. The sound almost warmed Naruto's heart, but his gaze became impassive and serious. The man next to him was now leaning on the table. It was time. He reached over, and as the music grew slightly louder, he unzipped the bag silently. Reaching in, he quickly, flipped through the folder; it was the information he was looking for. He quickly pulled out the folder, using his speed to instantly tuck it into his blazer. After zipping it back up, he crossed his arms, a feeling of triumph in his chest. _No...the mission isn't over yet._

The Kyuubi within him could still feed him chakra to enhance his senses and reflexes, and the fox could still sense negative emotions. He informed his vessel of a pair of strong negative chakra signatures.

Right when they were getting to the chorus of the song, the sound suddenly cut off. The guests all murmured in confusion. Naruto tensed up.

Kakashi quickly gave him a set of subtle signs that read something very simple. _Enemies; probably assassins for the Daimyo._

Nodding back to him, he glanced around. Everyone looked confused.

A voice suddenly called out. "Daimyo-sama! Assassins! Watch out!"

Naruto heard the whizzing before he took action. He pushed Akari out of her seat, and promptly tackled the Taichi to the ground. A set of thumps indicated that weapons had been thrown.

The blonde only felt the pain when a feeling of warm liquid trickling down his back came to his senses. Glancing behind his shoulder, he saw a cluster of senbon embedded in his back. _Fuck..._ He thought. The strange numbing sensation of poison was slowly affecting his back.

He heard the screams of the crowd, and of his comrades questioning his well-being. Guests began scrambling to get away, while the off-duty shinobi snapped into action.

"T-thank you, Naruto-san." The demon daimyo said. He nodded, and stood up shakily.

Kakashi, Yamato and a few other shinobi had promptly subdued the attackers; they turned out to be a band of missing-nin chuunin from Kusa.

Naruto leaned on the table, panting in pain. The poison was in his system. He glanced at his Hokage, who was heading over to him. "Poison, Hokage-sama." He said, and she nodded, before leading him out of the ball room. The Gala was over. He glanced one last time at his old comrades, who were all looking at him in shock. Giving them a grin and a thumbs up, he left, his smile fading back into impassiveness as he turned his head back.

Sakura frowned when she missed the chance to heal him. Staring at her feet, she wondered what was going on with her. The bouts of jealousy, the constant feeling of longing for Naruto's company, the desire to help him. _What...is wrong with me?_

* * *

"Brat, you should be more careful." Tsunade scolded as she pulled the senbon out of his back. She had brought him to her personal office, and had set him down on the medical bed. He chuckled mirthlessly. "My apologies, Hokage-sama. At least everyone is safe."

The poison turned out to be a low-grade, sleeping drug. Kurama was already nullifying it as Tsunade began to draw it out of his system.

"Oh! A gift for you." Naruto said, pulling out the folder. Tsunade couldn't fight the smirk that lit up her face as she took the documents. After skimming through them, her grin grew wider.

"Well done, brat. You're becoming a fantastic shinobi. I'll send you the appropriate pay tommorow. Rest up. You need it after that."

He nodded, before using the Shunshin no jutsu to poof out of the room, his wounds healed. He appeared in front of the apartment he now shared with both Yamato and Kakashi; he decided against living in the ANBU base. He enjoyed his privacy, and though he was one of them, he was slightly unnerved by the faceless soldiers that made up his unit.

Unlocking the door and opening it, he saw his two mentors sitting in the living room. Locking it behind him, he walked down the hallway.

"I assume you completed the mission?"

"Nice work. Really. Tommorow, you have the day off. After that, we'll continue with your kenjutsu training with Genma, and work on your utility jutsu." Yamato stated, earning another nod from his student.

Stripping down to his boxers, he padded into his room. His back was still slightly numb, but it wasn't anything too uncomfortable.

He hopped into his bed and pulled the covers over his body. The whole gala played over in his mind; the conversation with Hinata, the side glances Sakura was sending him. He groaned, turning over.

Kakashi had assured him that by the end of his training, he would be able to become completely emotionless. That thought scared him, yet it was slightly exciting at the same time.

A knock on his door caused Naruto to look up. "Come in."

The door opened, and Kakashi popped his head in. "How are you?" He asked, a frown on his face.

"Fine. The poison is almost out of my system; the wounds are hea-"

"I didn't mean that, Naruto." He interrupted. Naruto grumbled slightly. Kakashi had become his confidante; a man he could speak to about his troubles, mostly involving their former teammates.

"It's fine. I can actually handle being in the same room as them without losing myself, so I guess I'm making progress." The blonde said, a slight sarcastic tone in his voice.

"It get's better, like I've said. Just take it easy." He replied calmly.

"I had a talk with Hinata. I'm relieved that things are pretty much cleared up between us."

"That's good. I assume she's still in love with you, though? She has picked up your nindo, after all." Kakashi said. Naruto nodded slightly.

"I wish I could have loved Hinata instead. She's so...perfect." He said wistfully.

"Our imperfections are what make us human. Besides, you can't choose who you love. Goodnight, Naruto." Kakashi finished, giving him a small smile before closing his door.

Naruto's eyes fluttered closed as his sensei's words echoed within his head. _You can't choose who you love._

_That's a load of bullshit._ Was his last thought, before sleep overcame him, the exhaustion from the day catching up with him.

* * *

A/N: whoop.

Hope everyone enjoyed this!

Next chapter: ANBU

yeah! :D


	7. ANBU Black Ops

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 7 - ANBU Black Ops**_

* * *

- 3 months later -

"Come on forehead! Come watch the ANBU exams with us!"

Sakura looked over to see Ino waving, along with Chouji, Shikamaru, and Hinata. The pinkette was sitting at an outdoor tea shop, sulking. She had yet another fight with Sasuke the previous night.

Things were not going well with the Uchihas; lately, they rarely got along, and both of them had extremely busy schedules. Sasuke was working tirelessly towards attaining his Jounin rank, and Sakura's time was taken up by her medic-nin duties and teaching the next batch of healers. The stress of their occupations, and the fact that their relationship has been strained for months, led to irritable confrontations and, almost always, arguments and fights.

"ANBU exams?" She questioned, standing up and walking over. Ino nodded enthusiastically.

"Yup! They're today; Tsunade-sama set up a room for us to watch the combat exam." She said. Sakura then remembered what she was talking about; every 8 months, there was an exam held for graduating ANBU from all over the five great nations. After the war ended, the Shinobi Alliance enacted a treaty that established an organized ANBU graduation test for all members who have completed their respective training.

It consisted of a single phase; an all-out, free-for-all combat stage that incorporated multiple facets and requirements of an ANBU soldier; tactics, search-and-destroy objectives, survival and the ability to work without a team. Since ANBU members are trained for eight months in teamwork, the villages want to test their abilities on working by themselves.

"I can't wait; ANBU members are absolutely _gorgeous_." She gushed. Shikamaru grunted in displeasure to his 'girlfriend's' behavior.

She glomped him. "Don't worry! I love _you_, Shika-kun!" He blushed, muttering under his breath, and Ino turned to Sakura. "So? You gonna come with us?"

Sakura sighed. "_Fine_. Let's go."

They traveled to the shinobi HQ in the middle of the village; it was established after the invasion of Pein. All missions and communications dealing with ninja were transmitted and documented there.

They entered the large building, and entered the lounge. Inside, there was a large screen monitor.

The rest of the rookies were already there, along with their former jounin sensei. "Where's Team Gai?"

"On a mission. Man, I'm so excited to see some of our boys in the zone! I've heard that ANBU training has gotten incredibly strict and demanding." Kiba remarked, lounging on a couch with a bowl of chips.

Sakura almost reluctantly sat down next to her husband. He gave her a stiff nod of acknowledgement, and when his head turned to the monitor, she scowled.

The screen lit up, showing the entrance to training ground 44; The Forest Of Death. Fifty ANBU graduates were there, alongside Konoha's ANBU commander, Tsunade, and a handful of Konoha jounin.

* * *

Naruto glanced around. He was surrounded by men and women almost identical to him; the majority of them wore featureless, white masks, and were dressed in full combat gear. The uniforms varied, though, depending on each individuals home village; Kiri-nin had slitted holes for their eyes and hefty body armor, while Suna-nin wore long, beige coats and cloth masks, instead of the ceramic the others wore. Like himself, some of them also wore hooded cloaks to conceal their identity further.

"Welcome, everyone, to the ANBU advancement exam. Today, you have all graduated your training from your respective villages. Teamwork, strategy and focus are what makes an ANBU soldier capable to undergo the missions that are required of them."

"Today, you will all be thrown into a free-for-all combat scenario; your objective, is to obtain five tags. Each of you will get a tag, meaning at most only ten of you will be passing this exam. Once you have gotten your tags, you then have to endure and keep them in your possession until time is up. The exam will take 12 hours."

A brown-haired Suna graduate raised his hand. She nodded to him. "Rules of engagement, Hokage-sama?"

"It's kill or be killed. This is the Forest of Death; most of you will recognize this from your chuunin exams, if you took them in Konoha. You will each be given a single kunai; your swords won't be allowed. This will create the toughest scenario possible."

"Now, get your tags and weapon, and go to your respective gate. Good luck...and be careful." She finished.

The line of jounin began calling out numbers; each of the participating shinobi got a double digit code, from one to fifty, prior to the exam.

"Number twenty seven!" A man Naruto recognized as Ibiki Morino called out. Naruto walked up to him; the Tokubetsu jounin nodded at him, already knowing who it was.

He handed him his tag; it was the size of an exploding note, and rolled up like a scroll. He also handed him a sharpened, well-balanced kunai. "Good luck, brat. It seems like not so long ago you were in my exam, yelling about not backing down and becoming Hokage." The infamous Konoha interrogator said.

"Hai, Morino-san. Thank you." Naruto replied stoically. Ibiki's eyes widened slightly, but smirked. _Kakashi really did a number on you, eh, boy?_

He left his old proctor behind, and a few short minutes later, had arrived at his gate. He stashed the kunai in his empty holster, and awaited the starting bell to ring. His tag was tucked safely into his supply pouch on his hip.

Five minutes later, the alarm rang, and the gates sprung open. "Go!" A jounin yelled, giving him a wink, before Naruto launched himself into the trees. The game was on.

* * *

"Ooooh..." The rookies groaned as an Iwa ANBU got taken down by a kunai to the throat. The match was already becoming gruesome; seven shinobi were killed or incapacitated, only in the first hour.

Kakashi watched the screen earnestly as it flickered to someone he immediately knew was his own student; he recognized the dark grey cloak instantly. _Come on, Naruto. You can do it._

* * *

Naruto sprinted down a path; a pair of Kumo-nin were chasing him. Apparently, some of the ANBU had decided to work together. It was unfortunate, for Naruto, that he hadn't thought of that sooner.

A kunai whizzed by him, missing his jugular by a mere inch, and hit a tree with a dull thunk. He kept running down the path; a glance back told him the larger man of the two had thrown the kunai, and had recollected it.

_Shit..._ He groaned internally as he entered a rather large clearing; the area brought back a host of nostalgia. It was the area where seven years ago, Sakura had defended him and Sasuke from a trio of Oto-nin.

The clearing was filled with around ten ANBU, all clashing with one another. Explosions from bombs and tags rocked the earth, and created a thick smog of dust and debris. Jutsu from all different elements clashed with one and other, the mix of all of these traits effectively creating a mini warzone as more nin gradually poured in; no doubt sensing the large chakra signature that was coming from the area.

Choosing to see if he could lose the nin behind him, Naruto shunshined up into a tree. He crouched on a branch, and was relieved to see the pair of shinobi join the fray. He grimaced when one of his own comrades, a Konoha nin, was blown apart by an exploding tag that someone had slapped onto his chest.

Pulling out his weapon, Naruto chose to stalk back into the forest. He leapt from tree to tree, away from the clearing.

Out of breath and thirsty, he subtly jumped onto the forest floor after a half hour of running and searching. His back hit a tree, and he unstrapped his canteen from his belt. Glancing around, he lifted his mask up slightly, and took a large swig.

Sighing in relief, he pulled his mask down, put the lid back on the canteen, and stowed it away. His eyes widened when he heard a familiar whirring sound, and deftly rolled away, dodging a dozen kunai that embedded themselves into the tree he was just leaning on. He looked up, and saw a squad-size group of Kiri-nin.

"We're winning this exam, Konoha-nin. Hand us your collected tags, and we'll let you live." A blonde-haired one said. His hair was long and greasy, and his voice had a nasally tone. Those words brought him back to his chuunin exam once again; it seemed every team they came across had said those words to them.

Oh, how Naruto missed those days, of screaming his head off about becoming Hokage...when he still retained his youthful innocence and was relatively _happy _with the way things were.

* * *

"Number twenty-seven is finished..." Kiba muttered as the monitor snapped to a small area; one Konoha-nin against five or so Kiri ANBU.

Kakashi tensed. _Come on, Naruto. Damn...he still hasn't faced the trauma of his first kill, yet.  
_

* * *

He gripped his kunai tightly. _We can do this._ He thought; he was in Sage mode, increasing his reflexes and senses. "You want the tags? Come and get them." He taunted.

The nin looked at each other, chuckling slightly, before they all rushed at him. Kunai flew at him from seemingly every direction. _How the hell did they get all of these?_

One of them came at him from his right flank, snapping a kick at his head. He ducked, and swung his leg around. It caught the man in the calf, causing him to tumble to the ground.

Naruto formed a cross seal, and attempted to create a half dozen clones; he could still handle making, at most, fifty shadow clones before his reserves emptied. Unfortunately, one of his enemies had whipped a kunai at him; it impaled his left hand.

He gasped in pain, and ducked under another punch that was thrown at him. Tearing the kunai out of his hand, the metal plating on the back of his glove now ruined, he gripped it with his good hand, and parried a stab a man made for him.

Naruto tripped over an overgrown root as he was pushed backwards, and fell onto the tough, worn earth. _Fuck!_

His hand was still in pain, making it impossible to form any seals for a Kawarmi or Shunshin. The nasally voiced man ran towards him, before leaping into the air, intent on burying his dagger deep into Naruto's sternum.

The blonde yelled in desperation, squeezing his eyes shut and using his good hand to thrust his kunai upwards. He felt it make contact with something, and silence blanketed the small meadow he was in. He felt a small dribble of warm liquid cascade down his fingers, and soak into his glove.

Popping in eye open, he was shocked to see his weapon impaled right under the man's jaw, evidently going straight through the bottom and the roof of his mouth, more than likely piercing his brain. The Kiri ANBU twitched slightly for a few moments, a slight gurgle of blood in the back of his throat sounding out, before going limp, dead.

Naruto was shocked; he had just killed a man. Taken his life greedily, never for it to be returned. He was absolutely horrified with what he just did. His hands began to tremble slightly, his eyes wide in fear and amazement.

And then something inside of him snapped. His combat instincts took complete control of his actions. He used his victims body, and brought it on top of himself to create a shield from the flurry of shuriken and kunai the man's vengeful, impromptu teammates had thrown at him. He saw the used storage scrolls the men had brought with them; they had cheated to gain an edge over the competition.

Tossing the body off of his own, Naruto stood up. Blood was splattered across his torso, and he was panting heavily. He wrenched a dagger from the tree next to him, and flung it, _hard_, at one of the men who, unfortunately, had let his guard down and was not paying complete attention.

The blade flew straight through one of the slits in the man's mask, cracking the piece slightly, and impaled his eye. It completely tore into his skull, killing him instantly. He couldn't even let out the gasp that had caught in his throat. His body hit the ground with a dull thud. His comrades gaped at the events that had just transpired; two of their best were dead, seemingly instantly.

All of the heartbreak, the _rage_ Naruto had felt over the past years was being vented. No remorse was felt; nothing was gained, nor lost. He settled his glare on the remaining men, and charged into their midst.

* * *

All of the rookies watching were absolutely stunned. The only sounds came from the occasional clang of kunai, and the screams of the Kiri ANBU's demises. Kakashi's visible eye was wide as he watched Naruto ruthlessly dispatch his enemies. A stray shuriken flew into the camera that allowed them to observe the battle, and the screen turned to static, before switching to another fight; one that was less gruesome.

_Naruto...what is happening to you?_

* * *

Three hours.

Three hours of hell. Of pure, unadulterated, messy combat.

Naruto leaned against a large rock. He was literally drenched in blood; both of his own, and the enemies he had fought. He had 14 tags with him, but had killed or maimed seventeen of his opponents.

Surprisingly, his heart was beating calmly, and his breathing was level, even as he decapitated a rather short Suna-nin that attempted to ambush him.

Blood had begun to pool below him, dripping simultaneously from a few wounds he had sustained, and the crimson liquid that had splashed onto his cloak. He had never known that things could be this _violent_; especially things that were caused by his own hands.

And the strangest thing? He didn't feel a speck of remorse. No guilt, no pit of misery, no attempting to wash off the crimson liquid on his hands that wasn't really there. And that thought disturbed him more than the acts themselves.

He pulled up the sleeve, and glanced at his watch; he scowled when he saw it cracked and not functioning.

Sighing, he pushed himself from the rock and closed his eyes, drawing in the surrounding Natural energy. A snap of wood caused him to look up and stop his action. Using his chakra to sense the area, his jaw clenched when he detected about a dozen chakra signatures. _Back to the frying pan, I suppose._

* * *

He was panting heavily; he had just survived the ANBU exam.

Naruto had to drag himself out of the forest; his mask had a couple of cracks, and his cloak was torn up and missing a sleeve. His feet were blistered and aching, and he reeked of sweat and blood.

He stumbled out of the main entrance, greeted by a sight of five other survivors. The others were dead, on their way home, or missing.

Tsunade's eyes widened when she saw her favorite blonde jinchuuriki. _Holy gods. He looks like he's been to hell and back._

He stood next to his fellow passing ANBU. They were all quite stunned at their fellow's appearance, but of course, said nothing. The Hokage cleared her throat.

"I want to congratulate you six on passing the exam. You are all now official ANBU members for your respective villages. You have made everyone proud today. Strike in the shadows; do justice for the Alliance, and maintain the peace we fought so hard to attain."

Her mini-speech brought a strange though to Naruto's mind; if they were in an Alliance, then why were the killing each other off like they were in the middle of a war?

The answer was obvious; similar to the Chuunin exams, they wanted to limit the amount of passing shinobi that survived the exam. Too many ANBU could entice a nation to attack. Though there was a firm treaty in place for the five great nations, there was always a risk.

They bowed, and went their separate ways. "Brat."

Naruto turned to see Tsunade walking towards him, a smile on her face, though it slightly faltered at his bloody, tattered appearance.

"Good work out there. I'm proud. Go home, clean yourself up, rest, and meet me at my office tommorow morning." She said. Naruto bowed, glancing slightly at the falling sun, and went to his apartment that he shared with his two ANBU teammates.

* * *

The rookies all walked out of the room, their faces that of shock and disbelief.

"Did you _see _him? He was like a whirlwind of just...chaos." Kiba gushed, stars in his eyes. They raised their brows at his fanboyish behavior, but said nothing.

"That guy...he was a _monster._" Chouji remarked. "It's like he just lost it...when those Kiri-nin cornered him, he looked like he was in trouble...but when he killed that blonde guy..." A shiver ran down his spine.

"Graduate 27...he was from Konoha. I wonder who it was?"

They all shrugged in reply. Sakura stared at the ground as she and Sasuke walked back to their apartment. She was completely awestruck by the ANBU; she had never seen anyone move, or attack, like he did. It was rough, animalistic and vicious.

Sighing, she opened the door to her home and walked inside. She was exhausted, and as soon as she hit the pillow on her bed, she fell asleep.

* * *

The morning came soon enough, and Naruto was now standing in the Hokage's office.

"Congratulations once again, Naruto. Like I said before, you are now a fully fledged ANBU Black Ops soldier. From here on out, you and your team will be given direct-orders from me. It's time to make a name for yourself; to become worthy of your title." Tsunade said seriously.

Naruto was dressed in his ANBU gear, a new set after cleaning himself up after the grueling twelve hours he had to go through, along with Kakashi and Yamato, only he was missing a mask and wearing his grey cloak that hid his uniform from view. His sword was attached to his back by a tight, adjustable strap; it's ruby-encrusted hilt glistened in the sunlight that poured through the window.

The ANBU commander was also present. He wore a dog mask, detailed with thin eyebrows and three, thick stripes along either sides of his cheek and one on his forehead.

"My congratulations, Naruto. I will be relaying the missions to you and your team. Heh...it was not so long ago, you were running around Konoha, painting the Hokage monument and giving my men hell when we tried to bring you down. Now you're the best of the best. We are all proud of you." The man said, his voice reflecting his genuine happiness in the boy's progress.

Naruto softly smiled, and bowed in respect to his two superiors.

"Ah, I almost forgot your mask. Have you chosen an animal to represent you?" Tsunade asked, and Naruto nodded.

At first, he had instantly taken to a fox mask, in honor of his friendship with his bijuu and his whole appearance in general. But, he decided against it; for one, it was extremely obvious who it would be. Second, he had another animal in mind; one that paid respects to the man that shaped his ninja career.

"Hai. I want a mask in the image of a rabbit. Preferably blue and green coloring."

They raised their eyebrows. "A rabbit? I would have thought you would choose a kitsune."

He shook his head, turning to Kakashi, who, like Yamato, had his own mask turned to the side of his head. "Sensei, do you remember on our first C-Rank mission...when I almost killed that snow rabbit?" He said, almost laughing at the fond memory. Kakashi smiled under his mask and nodded.

"I remembered recently that that was an object for his Kawarmi. It represented Zabuza, in a way. I want to honor that man. He, with Haku, created my nindo, and their memory has allowed me to get this far. Never giving up, and protecting my comrades. Both of them...they were good people." He said solemnly.

They nodded in agreement, inspired by his explanation. "Very well. You'll have your first mission in an hour; I'll have your mask by then, Naruto. Dismissed."

Naruto bowed to her, and then his team, before leaving the office. As soon as he closed the door, he turned to his right and almost froze.

Shikamaru, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke and Neji were all walking towards them. The Nara's eyes widened.

"Naruto?"

He smiled a little and waved. "Hey Shika. Long time no see, eh?" He said, and Shikamaru nodded, his eyes still wide. "Yeah. It's been what, five months? Where the hell have you been lately, man?"

"Training, mostly. And...taking some time off, you know?" He said. They all looked at him like they had seen a ghost. It was slightly unnerving.

"Naruto-kun...are you going somewhere?" Hinata asked softly, eying his attire. He glanced at her and nodded.

"I'm...leaving the village for a while. Ero-sennin's spy network needs to be reinstated and checked up on. I'm going to be traveling the world, so I'm pretty excited. It'll be a good experience in politics and all of that." He lied. In truth, the spy network was already up and running; the toads made sure of that. But this was the story that he and the Hokage had crafted. Naruto disappearing for his probationary period, a time-period of at least three years of consistent service, needed an excuse.

"How long are you going to be gone for?" Neji asked. Naruto sighed, and ran a gloved hand through his hair. Only Shikamaru noticed that they were the plated, fingerless gloves that ANBU soldiers typically wore. His brows furrowed when he recognized the cloak he was wearing; it was identical to the one that Graduate #27 wore in the exams the previous day, albeit less bloody and in perfect condition. _Is Naruto...in ANBU?_

"I'm not sure. Probably a few years. Next time you see me, I'll be that much closer to being Hokage, so watch out." He said, still forcing a smile onto his face.

He began to walk away, but a pull on his sleeve caused him to twist around. His gaze instantly became impassive and distasteful when he saw Sasuke Uchiha looking at him.

"Look, dobe...before you leave, I just wanted to apologize. For everything."

"I don't care." He said simply, his face holding no expression. They were all unnerved by this side of Naruto.

Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean, you don't care? I'm trying to say sorry for everything I've done-"

"Like I said, I don't care. Your words are meaningless to me." He said, crossing his arms. Kakashi had once told him that indifference was one of his greatest weapons, after Naruto had fully explained his situation with their former teammates. The blonde had a habit of blowing off the handle during arguments.

The Uchiha released his sleeve, his eyes wide. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, Uchiha-san. I've spent my whole life trying to appease and make you both happy; I'm just finally seeing the light. Live or die, you don't mean anything to me anymore." He said emotionlessly, unblinking. Sasuke was feeling the effects of his Sharingan kicking in; the Uchiha's curse of hatred and egotistical way of thinking was coursing through his veins. He didn't particularly like the way Naruto was talking down to him.

Naruto tensed when his ex-teammates eyes flashed red, and the blonde's hand snapped up to the hilt of his blade. "I'm done with your childish games, Sasuke. I'm not the little dead-last anymore. You don't want to do this."

The Uchiha blinked rapidly; he reluctantly knew he was right. He no longer had the Mangekyou Sharingan; Naruto still had his bijuu. It would be a steamroll victory on Naruto's part.

"Tch. Whatever." He said, attempting to act like he didn't care, though it was clear he was angry and relatively embarrassed. He shoved past Naruto, heading to the Hokage's office.

Naruto let out a sigh, and released the grip on his sword. "Sorry about that. I...you know what, nevermind. I'll see you guys around someday." He said, almost sadly, as he walked past them.

He locked eyes with Sakura for a split second. She felt as though her heart had jumped into her chest, and looked away. He shrugged off her behavior, and left the building.

* * *

- The Next Morning -

"Alright, boys. I've got a fairly simple mission for you, just to get Naruto started off." The ANBU leader said, lounging in his seat, behind his dark wooden desk in his office.

His mask was tilted to the side of his face, alongside Kakashi's team. His eyes were a deep turqoise, similar to Ino's, and his hair was a deep shade of maroon. It was scraggly and put into a messy pony-tail. His face was angular and hardened, with a few noticeable scars evident on his cheeks and forehead.

His feet were planted on the desk, and he tossed a folder down onto the surface. Yamato picked up the documents, and stifled through them.

"Just a small band of missing-nin and thugs, near the border between us and the Land of Wind. Expect at most A-Rank shinobi. Aim to kill them; they have no information to offer us. Good luck, gentlemen."

They bowed, and promptly left the office. Naruto took his mask off of his head; Tsunade had their commander deliver it to him. He admired the detail put into it

Squad 14, or 'Icha Icha' as the ANBU have dubbed them, ran through the trees.

Yamato was in the front, with Naruto in the middle, and Kakashi in the rear, keeping tabs on any enemies that could by laying in ambush.

The blonde kept his hand on the hilt of his blade. He had missed his sword during the exam; it would have been extremely useful.

"Stop." Yamato called out, and they landed on the ground. Naruto's feet felt slightly numb from all of the chakra being poured into them, but he walked it off.

"We'll make a small camp here; I'll set up the tents and start the fire. Naruto, set the traps."

"Hai." He said. Yamato went to work on preparing their food.

Ten minutes later, all of the traps were set. The men were all gathered around the fire, watching the flames flicker about as they chewed absently on their meals.

"Naruto...do you want to talk?" Kakashi asked warily from across the pit. The blonde looked up. "About what?"

"About yesterday...what you did during that exam." He said. He tried to not make it sound like it was a horrible topic to discuss.

Naruto shrugged, causing Kakashi to frown. "You had your first kill..." He started, but was interrupted.

The blonde continued to gaze into the fire. "I didn't feel anything. Even as I drove the weapon into his head, nothing happened. I felt no remorse...no guilt...I just didn't _care_. And then I snapped. I just..._killed _so many of them."

"What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked, finally shifting his eyes from the fire and moving his mask to the side of his head. An anguished expression was on his face.

Kakashi sighed and did the same with his dog mask; funnily enough, he had his regular cloth mask underneath it. "Naruto, nothing is wrong with you." He started. _At least, I don't think there is._ He added mentally.

"You have been through more in your nineteen years than people have in their entire lives. Everything builds up, Naruto. The way you were treated as a child, from the beatings, to the scorn and hate, to the complete ignoring of your existence." Naruto visibly grimaced at the memories.

"You've had burdens put onto your shoulders; too many to count. We all depended on you to save the village, Sasuke, and the world. You've never had...release."

"Release?" He questioned, raising a brow. Kakashi nodded. Yamato was listening to them, a grim expression on his face; he knew where Kakashi was going with this. It had happened a few times before in their time in ANBU; men who killed not for pleasure, nor gain, nor any prominent psychological benefit. They just needed...ventilation.

"Hai. All of that stuff has been building up...I believe what happened between you and Sakura," Naruto flinched, and frowned. "has been the last straw. In some messed up way...killing is an outlet for you. All of the heartbreak, the anger, _all _of the negative emotions you've bottled up over the years..." He trailed off.

Naruto nodded. _God, what am I, some sort of monster?_

"Kaka-sensei...about that...I almost _enjoyed _it." He whispered, his face filled with horror.

"You need an anchor; a quirk to keep you in reality. That's one of the main reasons me and Yamato read Icha Icha...it keeps us connected with the world back home, and distracts us from what we've done. It's understandable for you to find a certain...satisfaction in it. Just don't lose yourself or become to accustomed to _liking _it." Kakashi warned. Naruto raised a brow.

"What..sort of anchor should I have?"

"Anything you want; anything that can take your mind off of what we do, anything that reminds you of home, of friends, loved ones." He replied. He then fumbled around in his pouch, and tossed a copy of Icha Icha Tactics to Naruto.

He caught it, blinking at the green cover. "Read it; you may have thought it boring three years ago, but your mind may have changed since then."

And read it he did. Needless to say, Naruto was now the newest fan of Icha Icha.

* * *

"Why didn't you back me up?"

Sakura stared at her husband like he had grown a second head. "What are you talking about?" She asked, grabbing an apple for her refridgerator. Sasuke was leaning against the kitchen table, a frown on his face, his obsidian eyes reflecting frustration and anger.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. The Dobe. Why didn't you help me make him see _reason_? To help him understand I'm sorry? _We're_ sorry?"

"Sasuke-kun, I've already _tried _to apologize. Many times. He has the right to be angry with us."

"The _right_? What the hell does that mean?"

"We betrayed him; both of us. We didn't get his blessing for our marriage, we've gone behind his back, and all of our lives we've depended on him, took from him and withered him down. So yes, he has absolutely perfect reason to be like this."

"_We _didn't do anything! It's his own stupid fault for falling in love with you!"

"You can't possibly put the blame on him for this, Sasuke-kun."

"Why do you continue to defend him? Everytime he comes up, you're always on his side, as if his feelings matter the most. I swear, some times I think you're in love with _him_!" Sasuke yelled, his eyes narrowed.

Her breath hitched in her throat. _In...love...with Naruto?_

The idea was laughable; absurd even. But the words shook her to the core. Burying her newfound thoughts, she laughed.

"You think I'm in love with him? You really don't trust me enough to know that I love _you_?!"

"Well, it's kind of hard to tell! You already lied to me once about you two, Sakura! How do I know that you aren't sneaking off with him and fucking every chance you get, huh?! How do I know that whenever we're together, you don't wish I'm him-" He was cut off by a chakra-enhanced slap to his face. He staggered, pushing the table backwards, it's wooden legs scraping along the floor.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, in anger, disbelief, and guilt. In truth, occasionally, Naruto would pop up in her head with no reason; often at the most inappropriate times.

"How _dare _you...you fucking bastard. I can't believe you're this jealous. I've already proved my love to you...you know what, screw it. I'm going to stay at Ino's. Talk to me when you grow up." She said angrily, before huffing and going to pack her clothes.

Sasuke stood there in shock; never had Sakura acted this way towards him. She'd never hit him before. He didn't even bat an eye when she dragged a suitcase out of the door, slamming it hard behind her, cracking the wall significantly. Sasuke Uchiha, for once, was at loss for words.

* * *

Naruto plunged his sword deep into the upper back of the last remaining nin; he felt the blade split through a lung and shatter a rib. The man spluttered in pain for a few moments, before the life faded from him. The ANBU planted his food on the body's back, and pushed it off of his sword.

Sheathing the weapon, he turned to see Kakashi snap a man's neck effortlessly. The mission was complete.

After piling the bodies and setting them ablaze, Squad 14 made their way home. Naruto felt an amazing sense of satisfaction. His first true ANBU mission was complete, and he had done a, though violent, good deed; this particular group of men had been terrorizing small villages on the outskirts of the Land of Fire for a few months, though innocent casualties were low.

The trip home was rather uneventful, and it took far less time than it did getting to the enemies. After arriving at the village, turning in their ID's, they traveled to the ANBU HQ to report in.

They entered their superiors office once more; the man had a grim look on his face. "I presume the mission was completed?" He asked, earning a nod from Kakashi.

"Tsunade-sama wants to speak to you three personally; I believe she has a long-term mission. Things aren't looking too good. She'll explain everything."

* * *

"Come in."

They entered, and noticed that Shikaku Nara and two other squads of ANBU were there. Tsunade looked up, shooting a nod at the newcomers, before clearing her throat.

"We have a problem. As you all know, and _only_ you know, Otogakure has been recently growing and developing their forces and influence. Their borders have been re-secured, and their village is now operational. In an effort to maintain the peace in the world, and between all of the nations, when we caught wind of their activities, we send a messenger squad to deliver peace talks and good will from Konoha."

Her face suddenly turned grim, and a scowl formed on her normally beautiful features. "We received the squad's decapitated heads in return. These...men, have commited a serious offense against Konoha, and the Shinobi Alliance; those sick fucks have to pay." She snarled, not even caring about her language.

Shikaku then spoke up. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now at war with Otogakure. Of course, this is a covert situation; the populace should never, and will never, hear of it. We have finally established peace. That's why we're sending you guys in. Along with a few teams from Suna, you will be there for anywhere from three to five years, depending on the situation."

Naruto swallowed thickly. He raised a hand, and earned a nod from the Hokage. "Hokage-sama...these Oto-nin. Do you think that any of Orochimaru's more...eccentric subordinates is behind this?"

"Hai. We don't know who is leading them, or why they are so aggressive, but one of our men had written down a small message before he was taken out, and he sent it via messenger hawk. According to him, these men were not only enhanced by all kinds of drugs and boosters, but...some of them had a modified Curse Seal. It makes them animalistic; blood thirsty, and instinctual. We need to get in there _now_; there were many villages built within their borders. Heavily populated villages." She explained.

They nodded in understanding. _This is it. _Naruto thought. This was what his training had prepared him for.

"I wish you all the best of luck. This is a SS-class mission. Stay in contact with one another, get the job done, and come home safely. Konoha depends on it. Dismissed."


	8. Hell

A/N: Sorry for the lateness; schools been swamping me, plus I hit some writers block for this chapter.

**Warning: Some dark scenes ahead. Violence, implied rape, among other things. Read at your own discretion.**

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 8 - Hell**_

* * *

"You actually _slapped _Sasuke Uchiha?"

Ino laughed until tears came out of her eyes when her pink-haired best friend nodded. Sakura was wrapped up in a soft, warm wooly blanket, a tub of ice-cream in her lap and a box of tissues next to her.

"It's not funny Ino..." She muttered, before taking another spoonful of the icy treat. Ino sniffled as she wiped the tears from her eyes, humor still on her face.

"You're right. It's _hilarious_. So what else did he say to you? What exactly _made _you slap him?" She asked. Sakura blanched, and looked down.

"He...erm...accused me of being _in love with Naruto_." She admitted softly.

Ino's eyebrows rose. In truth, the blonde had always suspected her friend of having feelings for Naruto. Whether or not she loved the baka was hard to tell, but from her reactions to everything thus far was any indicator, Sakura had some severely unresolved emotions for him.

"I don't get it. He's never acted like this before...never so jealous, or possessive. Naruto...he hates us both. Why would Sasuke-kun think that I'm having an affair with him?" Sakura questioned, her voice cracking slightly when she brought up Naruto's dislike towards her.

Ino scratched her chin in thought. "Sasuke-kun...he always was, no offense, of course, kind of a dick. He likes to have control over things. Perhaps he doesn't like the fact that you could have feelings for Naruto?" Ino suggested, and Sakura frowned.

"But I _don't _have any feelings for Naruto. I miss him a hell of a lot..but...ugh..." She groaned, palming her face with her hands.

"Are you _sure _about that, Sakura? Why else would you sleep with him? Why would you feel this kind of guilt? Why do you think you miss him _this _much?" Ino said, and gradually Sakura's eyes grew wider.

A gasp got caught in her throat as Ino's words flew through her head. What if she _did _have feelings for Naruto? _Oh god...do I?!_

"I-ino, don't be ridiculous..." Sakura said, trying to make her voice confident, but it clearly wavered."

"Sakura. Even at the gala, when Naruto came in with those two girls, I could see the jealousy you were feeling. Hell, you almost crushed Sasuke-kun's hand." The blonde pointed out. Sakura grew paler as she went on.

"You should have seen your face when he asked Hinata to dance, forehead. You looked like you were going to kill som-"

"Enough...Ino...enough..." Sakura whispered desperately. Her mind was reeling with the reality of her feelings slowly coming to light.

It was impossible. She had never thought of Naruto in that light before. He was always the stupid idiot that she cared for like a brother. Her little idiotic teammate that just so happened to be in love with her.

For her to actually feel romantically about the blonde jinchuuriki was appalling. But the more she thought about it, the more it became clear. The reason she slept with Naruto, the reason why she confessed all those years ago, why she felt empty without his presence, why things were so tense with Sasuke.

She had feelings for him. This revelation caused her over-exhausted eyes to begin leaking tears once more. The ice cream fell onto the floor with a thud, spilling the treat over the wood, but Ino didn't care.

She embraced Sakura, who was now sobbing hysterically. She lulled her shattered friend to a slumber, a frown on her face. Sakura needed help, and Ino was going to be there for her.

* * *

The large group of ANBU landed at the ruins of the Tenchi bridge, at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound. Among the ANBU were Squad 14, 17 and 22. A purple-haired, Cat-masked ANBU crouched at the edge of the ridge, dropping a stone down into the chasm that lead to a deep ravine. A quiet plunk of the pebble hitting the water was heard, and they all glanced around, surveying the area.

Both Naruto and Yamato felt a pang of nostalgia at the sight. Three years ago, this was where Naruto unleashed his fourth tail of tainted Kyuubi chakra in an effort to save Sasuke...and because of that, hurt Sakura. An event he still would never forgive himself for, even despite his current relationship with the pink-haired girl.

The destruction had been mostly cleared out, though the huge blasts of the tainted demon fox's chakra scarred the land forever. All forms of life avoided the large paths that the bijuu-damas created. "We'll make a camp up ahead; theres a clearing near the crater, with a river nearby. We're still a few miles from the warzone." Yamato stated.

They jumped across the expanse using their chakra, landing at the other side. Naruto stole a glance back, and saw the spot where he had landed in his four-tailed state. The spot where he hurt Sakura.

Sighing, he couldn't help but think of her. The eight months of ANBU training took his mind off of her, and with it, his hatred. He still strongly dislike her and Sasuke, but it wasn't anywhere near the unbridled rage he felt before.

It still left a dull, sinking ache in his stomach whenever he imagined her. She was still one of his precious people; she always would be. He felt he shared the blame for the mess of Team 7's relationship; if he didn't fall completely in love with Sakura, they would all be at Ichiraku's right now, sharing a hot bowl of ramen. He would probably be married to Hinata, perhaps with a few kids, whom would play with Sasuke and Sakura's own brats.

Instead, he was on his way to war with a nation filled with Orochimaru's past experiments and subordinates. He would probably never know peace; not for a long, long time. But it was necessary; both for Konoha's safety, and for his own mental security. It was an escape for the reality he lived in.

Yamato, as if sensing his old comrade's distress, patted Naruto on the shoulder, as he too was reminded of the past. This was where he had made the assumption that Sakura had romantic feelings for the blonde; something he still felt was true, to an extent.

His teammate's attempt at comfort did nothing to appease Naruto, however. Naruto kept the frown underneath his mask, even as they reached the designated clearing and the camp was made.

The sky was gradually getting darker. Naruto, wanting some time to himself, stood up and glanced at Kakashi. "I'm gonna go take a walk." He said, earning a nod from his captain. The blonde left the campsite, heading to the river nearby.

* * *

Naruto sat at the river, a half mile from the camp. They were still in the 'safe' zone, so his mask and cloak were off. The stars shone overhead, and the moonlight cast a calming glow upon the area.

He was in deep thought; thinking of home, of his old friends...of Sakura and Sasuke. He wondered bitterly if they had any kids yet, though he knew it was silly to think like that.

A snap of a twig caused him to rip a kunai from his holster and spin his head around. He relaxed slightly when he saw the purple-haired Cat masked ANBU from earlier walk up to him.

"Naruto? Holy shit. I heard you joined the ANBU...but..." The woman said, and he chuckled lightly.

"Yup." He replied, choosing to switch his gaze to the night sky as she sat next to him. He heard her take off her mask, and he glanced over to see a somewhat familiar face.

"Uhh...Yugao, right?" He questioned, earning a nod. He observed her features; she was a beautiful woman. Her facial features were angular, and had a rough look to them that only ANBU members possessed. Her purple hair was waist length, and her eyes were a dark brown; almost black.

"Hm. What's troubling you, Uzumaki? From what I remember, you were a loud, obnoxious, overly-happy trouble-maker. You gave me and my team hell back before you graduated the Academy." She asked, staring into his eyes; she saw pain, longing and anger within them. Emotions she knew well.

He sighed. "It's not really worth getting into. You look like something's troubling you as well. Care to share?"

"You first."

"The girl I was in love with screamed my best friend's name out while we had sex, then proceeded to marry said best friend without even bothering to ask if I was okay." He admitted reluctantly.

Her jaw dropped, and her onyx eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me...and I presume that's why you've joined the ANBU?"

He shrugged. He didn't like bringing up these memories, and he promptly forced it out of his mind. "Partly, yes. I couldn't stand being in that village any more. But, I also need more experience to become Hokage. Tsunade-sama already said that I'm more than likely going to be her successor, but the ANBU will help with gaining that position." He stated, and she nodded in understanding. She felt sad for him; he was incredibly different from the happy-go-lucky genin that wanted to prove everybody wrong and become the greatest.

"So what about you?" He questioned, and her own gaze darkened.

"My ex-lover...Gekko Hayate. When he was killed in the Oto-Suna invasion, six years ago, I swore that I would get revenge for his death. But, of course, we became allies with Suna once more, so that became impossible. I was angry, and confused...still am. It's like his death didn't even matter." She replied, crossing her arms and frowning.

"My condolences."

"Thanks. God, we're pretty fucked up, ne?" Yugao asked cheekily, lying down next to the blonde. He let out a small chuckle and nodded.

"In other words, I want you to fuck me up." She said in a sultry voice into his ear. A faint pink tinge crossed his cheeks, and he looked over.

"What?"

"Sex. Now. You need it, I need it, and we're probably going to die in this damned country. We should make some good memories for the times to come. So take your clothes off, Uzumaki." She said with a small smirk.

"Wait, what?"

"Naruto. Listen. What you've gone through...with whoever it was, I can tell you're still feeling the effects of it. You probably always will. Hatred...betrayal...anger. Negativity will get you killed. So..." She made a gesture, and he accepted her reasoning.

He mirrored her smirk, and for some reason or another, crushed his lips to hers. _This will take my mind off of things..._

* * *

Naruto threw his cloak over his recently clothed body, still panting lightly. A smile was on both of their faces; this was a memory they would hold on to during their time in Oto.

They chatted absently on their way back to camp. When they arrived, they saw a handful of Suna-nin now joining the group.

Naruto observed Kakashi giving him careful eye as all of the ANBU pulled on their masks. It was time for the mission.

After packing up the camp in relative silence, the group of fifteen ANBU traveled through the trees, heading towards the 'border' between the safe zone and Oto-controlled territory.

The nearer they drew, the more faint negative chakra signatures Naruto felt. It was a horrible feeling. He knew that he was going to be facing some disturbing things in the near future.

They stopped right at the border. Each squad had their own respective 'sectors' they were assigned. The Land of Sound was a massive country, and it's borders were growing every day.

"Alright. Keep in contact with one another. We have little intel; don't do anything that could jeopardize your life. Friendly casualties will only add to the questions people will be asking back home." Kakashi said. They all nodded, and after going over some small details, the ANBU group split up, leaving Squad 14 in the clearing.

"Our first objective is checking the villages near here; we're trying to find survivors, not take out the enemy. Let's move."

* * *

Sakura had cried in her sleep all night. The revelation that she, more than likely, had feelings, _strong _feelings, for Naruto, absolutely broke her. Ino felt bad for the pinkette, despite everything that she did.

It was clear to the Yamanaka now that Sakura was severely confused when she got married to Sasuke. It was a rushed relationship; her not telling Naruto of it was proof of that. When they were still friends, the two shared _everything _with one another.

Ino had always secretly rooted for them to get together; even back in their genin days. Not just because it would have meant the loss of her rival for the Uchiha's affections, either; when she had heard of Naruto saving Sakura from Gaara, even surpassing Sasuke in the efforts, she had a feeling that Naruto's feelings had went beyond a simple, childish crush.

That's not to say it was always completely one-sided. Ino had seen the soft glances and smiles Sakura would send Naruto when no one was looking; the faint blushes she would have whenever he said something to her in close proximity.

Ino couldn't understand how it came to this. Once best friends, now hated enemies. Well, hatred on Naruto's part. Well-deserved hatred.

Sakura made a little noise of happiness in her sleep, and Ino could only gaze sadly at her long time friend's dozing form as her own drowsiness began to overtake her. _It's a shame the only happiness she can find is in her dreams. I wonder what she's dreaming about?_

* * *

**_She was busy chopping some vegetables when a door opened, the sound of wood creaking then slamming shut echoing throughout the apartment. Her heart rate picked up, and a smile slowly formed on her face.  
_**

**_"Sakura-chyaaaaaan!" A cheery voice called to her. She turned around, and saw a happy, blonde haired man walk into the kitchen. He dumped his cloak onto a chair, strode over to her and picked her up off of her feet. She squealed, both in embarassment, anger and happiness that he was home.  
_**

**_"N-naruto! Put me down!" She called desperately as her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist to keep herself from falling. He merely grinned and held her close. "I missed you, Saku-chan." He said, before leaning in for a kiss.  
_**

**_She met him half-way, and her lips met his in a comforting, loving kiss. They were locked together for a few moments, before pulling back, both slightly flustered.  
_**

**_"I missed you too..." She whispered, placing her forehead on his as they stared into each other's eyes. She felt an almost unbearable warmth of affection and love spread throughout her as she gazed into the sky blue orbs of her longtime teammate.  
_**

**_He cast an aura of pure happiness, which infected her. She longed for more of him; his personality, his laugh, his antics, his everything. She ran a hand down his whiskered cheek; he was handsome, she noted. He still contained the childishness that she often scolded, yet privately enjoyed, but the years had been good to him. No longer was he the annoying genin; he was a man. A man that she adored dearly.  
_**

**_The world warped away as he went to give her another kiss while he carried her to the bedroom._**

* * *

Sakura snapped up, panting heavily. Ino was nodding off in the corner, snoring loudly. _She really is a pig._

The dream played over in her mind. She was severely confused by how _pleasant _it was. She didn't know what to believe.

Up until a few days ago, everything was relatively perfect. She was completely, unconditionally in love with her husband, Sasuke Uchiha. A boy she had pined for all her life. She was promoted to Tsunade's assistant, replacing Shizune who had resigned thanks to her pregnancy. _Iruka is a lucky guy..._

And now she couldn't trust her own feelings. She was miserable. And it was becoming clearer every second that she had been this way for months, possibly even years, and the cause was Naruto.

Questions with no answers floated through her head. When had this happened? Had she always, even since her days a genin, secretly and unconsciously liked Naruto? What of her feelings for Sasuke.

_Sasuke-kun..._ Sakura thought sadly. She loved him; she always had. But every day he was becoming more of a stranger to her.

Sakura shakily stood up and walked to the bathroom. She wanted to have a nice, hot bath, eat some more ice cream, and put her troubles behind her. _Easier said than done.._ She thought sarcastically, before turning on the water near the tub and stripping down.

* * *

Icha Icha rushed across a scorched meadow towards a smoke-covered village. As they arrived, the silence was deafening; no sounds were made, other than from the fires that lit up a few buildings and the slow, deep breathing the shinobi were taking. The air reeked of decayed flesh, sulfur, fire and blood.

But the sight was worse. Naruto's eyes were wide as he surveyed the area.

Mutilated corpses littered the streets; various bodies were dismembered, blown up, or set aflame. A line of spikes with a decapitated head on each was in the middle of the road. Blood dripped from almost everywhere, and every step they took, their boots made a soft squelching sound as they made contact with the softened road.

Naruto immediately felt sick when his Kyuubi enhanced senses picked up the scent of various _fluids_. A pair of naked, bloody, deceased females confirmed his suspicions.

"These are fucking animals..." Naruto muttered to his superiors as he drew his sword. They followed suit, nodding in agreement. Leaving the mutilated, violated bodies behind, they trekked forward.

Kakashi had a sinking feeling that told him there were no survivors of something as brutal as this.

They felt a presence behind them, and turned around to see four men standing there; their headbands had a musical note engraved into them.

"Look at this, boys. Three scrawny bitches playing ninja. How cute." The one closest to them said. He was severely overweight, yet his muscles were defined on his arms and chest. He wore only a pair of loose, stained pans and worn-out sandles.

A burly man on the left burped and threw a bottle of sake away. "We'll let ya keep your lives...but you'll havta _come_ with us." He said in a sick tone. Naruto cringed inwardly when he got what he meant.

The ANBU made no movement. "Oh...I guess they aren't up for negotiating. Let's teach these guys a lesson." The fat man said, before a disturbingly familiar seal activated on his shoulder. Black markings spread across his body, and he charged forward, aiming to take out Naruto.

The blonde leapt over the man, snapping a kick at the base of his skull as he ran under him. It connected, sending the Oto-nin to the bloody, dirt road. An evil, almost demonic growl emitted from the man's throat as he immediately launched himself upwards, his arm deforming completely into a disturbing, fleshy claw; it reminded Naruto of the beginning stages of Gaara's Shukaku transformation, years ago.

The claw struck him in the abdomen; he felt the strain on his muscles and bones, but he didn't feel any significant damage. He flew through the air, keeping his eye on the battle. Yamato was swordfighting two of the men with ease, while Kakashi took on the burly man.

Suddenly, that nin launched into the air, aiming to take out Naruto. The man with the Curse Seal threw himself at Kakashi with the intent to claw into his stomach.

The man that was going after Naruto slammed into his body, sending him crashing to the ground. The sword flew out of his grasp, clattering on a concrete sidewalk that lined the street.

He landed with a painful crack, and his arm ached where it made contact with the ground. He was relieved to find that nothing was broken, but the relief was short lived; in an instant, the man was upon him, attempting to stab his prone body with a tanto.

Naruto rolled out of the way just in time as the short sword dug deep into the earth. The man attempted to pull it out of the ground, but it was stuck. Using the opportunity, Naruto swung his leg out, taking the other shinobi to the ground.

They then proceeded to have a sort of wrestling match; Naruto would have laughed, if not for the fact that his life was on the line and he was facing a deranged psychopath.

Naruto was being straddled as the man reached his hands under the blonde's mask and grasped his throat. Naruto panicked as he felt his wind pipe being constricted by his enemy's abnormal strength. He struggled to make a handsign, but the pain prevented him from utilizing any chakra.

In desperation, his hands made their way to the burly man's face. He pushed and shoved it, but to no avail; the man choked harder. A scream came out of Naruto's throat as the air left him, and he tried to do anything to get out of the situation.

Violently, he dug his thumb straight into his assailants eye. He felt the organ being crushed under the extremity, and blood leaked down onto his hand. The man above him screamed in agony as his eye was destroyed, and Naruto promptly shoved him off, before tackling him back into the ground.

The two struggled for domination. The blonde's sword was a few meters away; far out of reach.

Naruto finally got the advantage and pinned him down, his arm pushing into his throat. The man choked for air as Naruto popped open his holster, and ripped an exploding tag from it.

The Oto-nin's remaining eye widened when he saw the instrument, and Naruto made a Ram seal, before shoving the now-flaming tag into the man's gaping mouth. He jumped away, seconds before the tag exploded, completely mutilating the man's head. Nothing remained of his skull or his neck, leaving a smouldering upper torso, and a bloody mist that lingered in the air.

Kakashi was still battling the Curse Seal enhanced nin; he dug a pair of kunai into the man's unmorphed arm, causing him to yell in pain. The copy-nin ducked under a swing of his claw, and picking up his sword, stabbed it forward.

It impaled the man, straight through the heart. His eyes widened as his seal faded, his body returning to normal. Blood leaked slightly out of his lips, and he shuddered in pain as Kakashi twisted the sword violently and ripped it out of his chest.

Satisfied with Kakashi's work, Naruto ran towards Yamato. The mokuton-user snapped one of his opponent's necks as he Shunshin'd behind him, and his blonde comrade went for the remaining Oto-nin, who now had a panicked expression.

In an effort to save himself, the man pulled out a syringe and injected himself with it. The ANBU froze when, unnaturally, the man began to gain a substantial amount of muscle mass in front of their eyes.

After the drugs were into his system, his stature matched the burly man's, who's head was now a pile of gore and blood.

His veins were pulsing, and were almost black in color, heavily contrasting his pale complexion.

Before he could do anything, however, Yamato had him pinned down with a wood clone. He struggled to free himself, but not even his recently acquired strength could break the hold he was in.

Naruto rushed over, gripping his sword with both hands. "Kill him!" The clone yelled, and he could only oblige.

Time seemed to slow down as he got closer to the man. His eyes were wide in fear when he saw the ANBU brandish his sword. With a snarl, Naruto swung his blade horizontally in a wide arc; blood sprayed onto his mask and torso as his victim's head was removed from his neck.

His body fell to the ground with a dull thud, and Yamato's wood clone collapsed into a useless log. Naruto swiped the blood from his blade onto his cloak before sheathing it.

"So these are the guys who we're fighting...what a bunch of sick motherfuckers." He remarked, prodding a body with his foot to make sure he was dead. The strange feeling from the ANBU exams filled him once more.

He felt almost relieved; satisfied in some way. Inflicting his pain on these men felt _right_. Unlike before, he didn't get frightened of these new emotions. He embraced this new found feeling of contentment. He justified the killing by one simple fact; the men deserved it.

The females Naruto spotted before were proof of that. These weren't ordinary shinobi; they were sadistic, despicable thugs. And he wanted to kill them. Simple as day and night.

As he delved into his thoughts, the Kyuubi deep inside of him stirred silently. The beast felt strong, _very _strong negative emotions, and was baffled when he realized they were coming from his vessel.

Not once in his nineteen years of being sealed within the boy had Kurama felt even a speck of this kind of bloodlust. His cage's desire to shed the blood of these men was something the demon fox hadn't felt in centuries.

Kurama decided he would keep to himself, yet watch Naruto carefully. Only he and the fox within him knew of the pain he felt throughout his whole life; he could blow up, mentally, at any second.

Naruto was awoken from his thoughts when a hand patted his shoulder. He looked back to see Kakashi and Yamato staring at him. He nodded to them, and the trio began their trek back into the village to look for more survivors.

At this point, the blonde knew he would have to deal with this everyday. The mass murders, the mutilated corpses, the innocent victims. He braced himself completely for the horrors to come.

And horrors they were.

* * *

-One Month Later-

"Intel came in. They have a valley full of internment camps; hundreds of them. We don't know what they do in there...but it's probably nasty."

Naruto frowned under his mask as Kakashi unraveled the map of the Sound nation. A mile next to their position was the valley. The copy-nin opened his sharingan eye, which had copied the list of locations he had been informed of, and one by one, used a pen to mark the camp locations.

"The nearest one is beyond the ridge, at the edge of the valley. Be on your guard. We have no idea what to expect." He said, pointing to the spot closest to their position. After packing up their gear, and stowing away the map, Squad 14 was on their way.

It took only a few hours to travel; they happened upon a rusty set of doors, installed into an entrance to the side of a mountain. They approached the door, swords at the ready, and Yamato wrenched the doors opened.

They were greeted with the single most disturbing sight any of them had ever seen. Naruto felt all sense of positive emotions leave him when he saw what was inside the camp, and tightened the grip on his blade.

He wasn't expecting something like this. _This...is hell._

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha, the last remaining member of the cursed clan, walked down the wooden hallways to the council chambers. A frown was on his face as he remembered the ANBU agent, delivering him a letter that demanded he go to the Leaf's council at once.

Sasuke, lately, was slightly upset; it had been two weeks since he last saw Sakura. She had come back to gather her things, declaring that they needed time apart. He missed her, but had a sinking feeling that their marriage needed _alot _of work. They both had unresolved issues that they needed to deal with.

He entered the council room, and saw that the civilian clan heads were all there, but the shinobi leaders were not. He quirked a brow, but said nothing as he stood in front of the elders, and the Hokage.

"Sasuke Uchiha, I presume you don't know why you're here?" The Hokage asked, earning a shake of the head from him. She sighed, and her face was grim with annoyance and slight anger towards the council, who all had smug looks on their faces.

"I'm just gonna cut to the chase. Sasuke, the council has voted, and the elders have permitted the action of your immediate induction into the CRA."

* * *

A/N: DOUBLE CLIFF HANGER.

Next Chapter: The Last Uchiha.

Hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a review or whatever. Thanks.


	9. The Last Uchiha

A/N: Woo. Chapter nine. Once again, thanks to FicsRLulz for betaing this. :D

Also, big thanks to everyone who's been enjoying this story, and to those who have been reviewing/supporting it. You guys are awesome.

**Warning: This chapter contains dark scenes. Implied rape, violence, deaths and torture.**

Enjoy! ;D

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 9 - The Last Uchiha**_

* * *

"What?" Sasuke asked incredulously, his eyebrows raised. He had heard of the CRA, years ago; it was an old practice the village used to revive a clan that had been wiped out or dispersed. Kakashi had informed him that this was a likely possibility for him, but he never thought it would actually happen.

"The Clan Restoration Act. Given the circumstances, we have selected a small group of age-appropriate women to recieve your seed and bear your children." One of the elders said. The majority winced at her brunt terminology.

Sasuke was confused; why had they decided to do this _now_? A sudden thought disturbed and confused him even more. _Sakura.._

"Wait...I'm married. Isn't it illegal to enact the CRA with a married individual?" He questioned. The male elder, Homura, snorted.

"True as that may be, we can make exceptions." He said coldly, glaring at the former 'Uchiha Prodigy', whom they all used to herald as a tragic hero.

"Uh-huh. Then why the fuck are you making an exception?" He asked, annoyed.

One of the civilian leaders scowled. "Watch your language, boy. You've lost all credibility when you decided to join that snake, Orochimaru. Respect your _superiors._" He sneered, causing the Uchiha's blood to boil. He still had problems with ranking; he had grown out of his egotistical 'Uchiha are superior' way of thinking, but having a civilian, whom he could kill with a flick of wrist, scorn and belittle him, it generally pissed him off.

"Sasuke...word has spread about your marriage. It's failing...isn't it?" The Haruno leader, Kizashi, stated sadly. Sasuke glanced at Sakura's father; the man was extraordinarily kind, and when he asked for his daughter's hand in marriage, he didn't outright deny it.

Sasuke felt guilty, still; he had two attempts on Sakura's life when he had lost his mind to revenge and his bloodline. How her father managed to see the light in him, he couldn't tell. _He's like the dobe...he can find the good in anyone._

"Hai, Haruno-san. Things...haven't been working out between us...but I hoped to fix it soon." He admitted. He didn't feel like explaining what the problem was; even he wasn't quite sure what it was.

Perhaps he was just jealous over how sad Sakura seemed to be over Naruto, and that caused him to think irrationally. But then again; he _never _thought irrationally. _So why isn't it going well between us? Are...we just having a simple spat over nothing? Or is the situation worse than that?_

He was cut off by his musings by a shrill voice. "Well. So the rumors were true." The female elder remarked, before shuffling out a folder of papers. Tsunade had walked over to Sasuke, and whispered into his ear.

"Sasuke..I'm sorry for this. I couldn't reason with them." She said, and he gave her a confused look before the elder cleared her throat, a scowl on her face.

"Sasuke, your marriage with Sakura Uchiha, former Haruno, is now annulled." Koharu said, causing Sasuke's jaw to drop. _What the fuck?_

* * *

_What the fuck?!_

Naruto had to force himself to not throw up. He held his katana in one hand, and a kunai in the other as he walked into the dimly lit area.

The sight was horrible. It was a large room; Naruto compared it to the size of the dojo the Chuunin exam preliminaries were held, all those years ago.

On the left side, there was three rows of tables; all of them had bodies on them. Men, women, children; it didn't matter. Their corpses were all disfigured, mutilated or dismembered. Tanks of drugs and steroids lined the walls. They guessed that they were seeing if the drugs helped with pain, or prevented death.

The area reeked of death and blood, and the further they got in, the more powerful and varied the stench became. There was a door to their right, and Naruto carefully stalked over to it. He heard muffled noises inside, and he quietly turned the handle, before opening the door slowly.

His eyes widened in horror and disgust when he saw what the noises were; two Oto-nin were in the room, violating a pair of women in ways Naruto wouldn't ever speak of.

A few other girls were chained to the walls, all of them naked and bloody. The looked up, and their eyes lit up in hope when they saw the ANBU. He raised a finger to where his lips were, signalling them to be silent.

The men were so into their sinful act, that the failed to notice their enemy creeping up behind them. In an instant, Naruto slit one man's throat messily, and using the distraction, promptly knocked the other unconscious by tearing him from the woman he was raping and slamming his head into the wall.

The girls all immediately weeped in happiness, save one, who was sitting in the corner, her eyes dulled. Naruto leaned his head out of the door frame. "We have survivors in here!"

The two nin immediately rushed over; the base was clear of enemies. After some emergency aid, and having one of the more functional women use a rape-kit to prevent any conception, they helped the five girls out of the dreary base.

They stood outside while Kakashi wrote a letter to the Hokage and summoned a dog to deliver it. He informed her of a group of survivors heading there. Naruto glanced at the horizon, his bloody kunai loosely hanging from his finger as it looped through the ring. The weapon dangled, and swung lightly with the breeze that blew across the hilltop.

"Alright." Kakashi stated, before all three of them made clones; fifteen was their total count. "These clones will take you back to Konoha. There you will find proper medical and...emotional aid, shelter and residence."

"Thank you...for saving us." The one who had used the kit said; she was now draped in a cloak, like the others. The copy-nin nodded, and none of the ANBU noticed the quiet girl walk up to Naruto.

The blonde didn't even notice until it was too late; he couldn't do anything. The girl had taken his kunai, and with a small scream, stabbed herself in the stomach. The other girls yelled in shock, and the ANBU rushed over to the now-prone form of the bleeding woman.

"Shit!" Naruto exclaimed, before running through the handseals for a basic medical jutsu he was taught. He was about to finish, when a soft hand gripped his wrist.

"L-let me die..." She whispered. He could sense her emotions; helplessness, despair, self-loathing. Those men ruined her, and she couldn't live with herself. He understood immediately, and allowed her the mercy of death.

"There's no need for you to suffer even more..." He whispered back, before placing his hands above her heart. She nodded, smiling slightly as she closed her eyes. Naruto inserted some chakra into his hands, and within a second, stopped her heart, killing her instantly.

* * *

"WHAT?!" Sasuke yelled, and they looked at him in shock. Normally he was stoic and quiet; this outburst was completely not what they expected.

"Who do you think you are, meddling with my personal life?" He questioned in anger. Homura blinked at him, before chuckling humorlessly.

"Boy. The CRA has no place for failed marriages; besides, the Sakura girl is far too important for our medical staff to become a carrier of your heir." She said darkly, before stamping a paper.

"The only reason you aren't chained up in a high security prison is thanks to Uzumaki-san's influence. He was the only one who never gave up you and your stupidity-filled quest for revenge." She continued, before huffing. The male elder coughed once, and pushed his glasses up.

"And seeing as how he can't get you out of this one, you have no choice but to oblige."

"You can't do this. It's my right to marry whomever I choose. I chose Sakura, and you can't just fucking take that away from me!"

"Listen to me, Uchiha. The only true reason we allowed you marriage is the promise of heirs; you promised us the revival of the clan. It's been over a year, and you've still delayed in that. You have no rights."

Tsunade watched Sasuke's jaw clench in anger. _Oh boy...this isn't going to end well._

"You bastards...did you forget the fact that I'm the last Uchiha? Have you forgotten I choose where the clan goes? What the future of the Sharingan is? If I want to wait, I can fucking wait!"

"Hold your tongue, you brat! You fail to understand something very simple! When you left, when you became a traitor, the worst offense a Konoha Shinobi can make, you forfeited your right to the Uchiha clan! You still hold part of your international criminal title!" The male elder exclaimed, scowling in anger.

Sasuke backed up, stunned. Gradually, his buried hatred for Konoha was bubbling to the surface. His mind went hazy as he fought to not engage his sharingan. _Sasuke. These are Konoha leaders; the Leafs top brass. Don't bring harm to them. _He remembered those words that Naruto spoke when he was brought before the council, three years ago. _Right...dobe.__ You may hate me now, but I am forever in your gratitude._

Those thoughts didn't last long. "You are hereby stripped of your rank as clan leader, chuunin and shinobi. Your failure to appease our side of the deal has reverted your pardon as a traitor." The elders said.

Sasuke couldn't contain his anger anymore; the familiar sensation of his Sharingan activating tingled in his eyes, and he unsheathed his sword.

"Stop him!"

* * *

After burying the woman's body, and setting off a series of explosions within the base, completely covering it in rock and earth, Squad 14 had sent the group of refugees to Konoha with their clones. Prior to the destruction of the internment camp, Naruto had dragged out the only remaining Oto-nin so he wouldn't get crushed.

They had bound the man, who Naruto had knocked unconscious, to a tree, and were all sitting around him, waiting for him to join the world of the awake.

The blonde was leaning against a rock, avidly reading Icha Icha ANBU; a book he found somewhat hilarious. Compared to the normal ANBU lifestyle, this was like a glorified soap opera.

Flipping the page, he lazily swung a kunai around his finger. His thoughts drifted back to the girl who's life he had ended. He felt guilty for killing an innocent; she wasn't an enemy, nor any harm to himself or his team.

But, he pitied her. He had, in his eyes, saved her from her own hell. What those men did to her...what the _man_, if he could be called that, sitting a few feet away from him did to those women...no one should have to live with that.

His sympathies went to the surviving women. He hoped that the medics in Konoha could fix them up; both physically and mentally.

A groan alerted him, and he snapped his book shut, alongside his comrades, who were also reading the adult literature. Kneeling down next to the man, they waited for him to wake up.

Naruto roughly slapped the man's face. "Wake the fuck up." He snarled, tightening the chakra-draining rope that held his captive down. The Oto-nin's hazel eyes fluttered open, and they widened when they saw the ANBU surrounding him.

Squad 14 had selected Naruto to be their interrogation's expert, for a multitude of reasons. One was his complete lack of any remorse or guilt towards harming their enemies, who, by their standards, were disgusting animals that needed to be put down. The second, which Kakashi had figured out, was that Naruto knew pain inside and out, mental and physical.

"You fuckers caught me when I was having some fun...no fair.." The man sneered, before Naruto punched him in the cheek, causing blood to fly out of his mouth.

"Don't joke around. What's your name?" Yamato asked, and the man let the rest of the blood drip out of his mouth before speaking.

"Go fuck yourself. I ain't tellin' you nothing." He said, grinning when he sensed the anger that swept through them.

Naruto slammed the man's head into the back of the tree, before wrenching the dog-tags from his chest. "Raichi Izuki...well then..." He said, before stabbing the kunai into the ground, an inch from the man's leg.

"You're going to tell us _everything _we want to know. Your tags say you're a jounin rank; I always thought you guys had some sense of self-respect at the higher levels. We want information; weapons deployment, squad lists, camp locations. You give us this, and we'll let you...live." He said calmly.

The man didn't flinch, and merely grinned. The blonde sighed and ripped the kunai from the ground. "You know, when I was five years old, I had an assassination attempt on my life. I was beaten, stabbed, bruised...and almost raped." Naruto started as he traced the kunai up Raichi's bare arm, scratching it but not breaking the skin.

The Oto-nin's eyes widened slightly. He realized what was going to happen. "Now, you must be thinking; wow, I must be _lucky_. Mr. ANBU didn't kill me; if I can hold out long enough, perhaps I won't have to tell them anything!" He said in a fake, cheerful voice before plunging the weapon into his victim's hand.

The man bit back a scream, tears filling his eyes in pain. Naruto glared. "No. I won't give you any mercy, because you didn't give those girl's any mercy when you took their innocence away from them. So don't _fuck _with me." He said darkly, tearing the dagger from the man's palm, and placing at his eye.

"Talk, or you lose an eye."

"Heh. Those girls had what was coming to them. I'm not going to tell you anything, so you can take your kunai, and shove it up your-AGHHH!"

Blood flowed down his left cheek as his eyes was destroyed. The ANBU pierced the socket far enough to crush the eye, but not enough to cause any lasting damage.

Pulling the blade out, and ignoring the man's weeping, he pulled Raichi's head back, glaring into his remaining eye. "What did I tell you?"

The blonde suddenly remembered something; the first encounter he had ever had with an enemy shinobi. The words of Zabuza Momochi still rung within his head.

Kakashi's eyes widened when Naruto began speaking with malice he had never heard before. "Now then...eight points. Heart, brain, clavical, jugular, lungs, kidney, spine, liver...how shall I kill you?"

That caused Raichi to snap. "F-fine! Fine! I'll tell you everything!" He said desperately, and Naruto pulled the kunai back. "Thank you!" He said happily, before stowing the weapon away and walking from the broken man.

As he padded away, his gaze darkened. He could feel himself changing; becoming less human, and more of a killer. A weapon.

And he _liked _it.

* * *

Sasuke stabbed a kunai into Homura's throat while simultaneously impaling Koharu in the chest. They both looked at him in shock as blood pooled under the floor, moments before the life faded from them.

Wrenching his blades free, he turned his gaze to the team of Jounin and ANBU that were sprinting at him. His Sharingan flaring, he easily countered the shinobi's jutsu and effortlessly slaughtered him.

Using his slim opportunity, he launched himself out of the window, and landed on a balcony outside. He had to leave Konoha. He had completed his revenge; the last living instigators of the Uchiha's demise were now gone.

But as he ran across the rooftops, his mind drifted to his future. What was next? He had to leave Sakura behind. He cared for her, but she had no place with a traitor. He wouldn't even try to ask her to come with him; after everything he had put her through, he owed it to her...and Naruto, to not subject her to anything more painful. _But isn't this going to hurt her, like it did last time?_ He thought, before shaking his head. She didn't belong with him, running around the world. And something told him that she wouldn't go even if he were to ask.

Perhaps he would wander the world, and find a quiet village. He could rebuild the Uchiha, and live a peaceful life, protecting his family and staying away from the Shinobi business.

He bound across the village walls, and began tree-running. The cool summer breeze blew into his blood-splattered, raven locks, and his eyes scanned the forest for anyone trying to stop him.

The Uchiha landed in a forest clearing, and walked into the center; he sensed a group of Konoha-nin following him. He no longer wished to kill any more of them; his revenge was satiated. But he needed to leave.

Much to his shock, around forty ANBU soldiers appeared in front of him, jumping from the trees and the brush. A captain walked forward, a chakra-enhance tanto in each of his hands.

"Uchiha-san, surrender at once. You're not getting out of this one." He said calmly.

Sasuke weighed his options; he could take down the captain, and perhaps a squad or two. But forty fully-trained and geared ANBU was too much, even for the Sharingan. If he had his Mangekyou, this wouldn't have been an issue, but that was no longer a choice he had.

He deactivated his doujutsu and let his katana fall onto the forest floor, before he collapsed onto his knees and placed his hands behind his head. A seal was slammed into his head, and right before he lost consciousness, he felt his hands being cuffed with chakra cancelling binds.

* * *

He awoke by being dropped onto a wooden floor. His knees ached a bit, and he scrunched his face when his eyes fluttered open. As the world became clearer, he realized he was in the Hokage's office.

Tsunade was frowning; not an angry frown, as she had when he was brought back. It was a sad grimace; her face made the pit in his gut grow bigger.

"Leave." She ordered to the two ANBU who held him. They were about to protest, but a stern glare from their Hokage sent them off. Two poofs of smoke erupted in the office, and the Hokage crouched down next to her prisoner.

"Uchiha...I can't get you out of this one..."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"You've killed two of the Leaf's highest ranked individuals, not to mention the small squad of Jounin and ANBU soldiers. I can't get around it...the council, and the leaders, have warranted your execution."

Sasuke swallowed thickly. He had been expecting this; even when he returned to the village, and when he was walking down the streets, an uneasiness had built up within him. He always had the sinking sensation that Konoha would be his end.

"...When?" He said, almost in a whisper. "Tomorrow." She replied.

"Do you have...any business to take care of?" Tsunade asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sakura...can I see her?"

"Sure. We'll have to do it quick...and in the cells..."

"I understand. I don't think I would run away, anyways. I have nothing left..."

* * *

Sakura walked into her Hokage's office, a frown on her face. Tsunade's face was grim-set, and she knew something was up.

"Shishou? What's...going on?" She asked. She had heard of a scuffle in the village; the rumors raced everywhere from a group of Academy students blowing up a building, to the Akatsuki returning.

"Sakura...it's about Sasuke." The Hokage said. Sakura felt her heart rate speed up, and her lips became dry.

"The council attempted to annul your marriage, and place him in the CRA. He...his revenge has been completed." Tsunade said simple, her fingers interlocked as she sighed.

"Where...is he?" Sakura questioned, understanding her Shishou's words clearly. Tsunade frowned even more.

"He's been set up for execution. I'm so sorry, Sakura...there's nothing I can do."

Sakura felt her world spinning. She couldn't breathe properly, and had to sit down to keep herself from collapsing. Her conflicting emotions for Sasuke and Naruto were already stressing her, but this...this filled her with an unbearable sense of despair.

Sniffling, she looked up to her old mentor, her glistening jade eyes brimming with sadness. "When...?" She whispered. The Hokage shook her head. "Tommorow."

Choking back a sob, Sakura shakily stood. "Can I see him...?" A nod from the blonde assured her. "He's in the holding cells, below this towers. Sakura...I annulled your marriage with him. Is that...alright?"

After hesitating for a moment, Sakura looked back. "Yes...that's fine..." She quietly said, her voice having a wistful and sad tone, before leaving to see her now ex-husband.

* * *

Flashing her ID to the guards, Sakura entered Sasuke's cell. The Uchiha looked up, a sorrowful expression on his face. "Sasuke-kun..." She whispered, before dropping beside him and embracing him, crying into his shoulder.

"Shhh...Sakura. It's alright." He said, attempting to console her.

"H-hokage-sama divorced us.." She said, and his eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah. So this is it..."

"Sakura...we shouldn't have gotten married."

"What..? Why?" Sakura asked, confused by his words and how they don't hurt as much as they should.

He sighed. "The dobe..." He said simply, and Sakura immediately understood.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun...do you remember what you said to me, the day of the team assignments?" She suddenly asked. He thought for a moment, a little confused by her question, but nodded.

She blushed a little, but decided this was the perfect time to see what her feelings truly were. "Well...I always wondered, why _did _you compliment me? I mean...you didn't like me at all then..."

He stared at her, raised eyebrows. _Oh god...Naruto...did he?_

"That...wasn't me Sakura." He said, already seeing her face scrunch up in confusion. "Who was it then? I mean, no one else was around, except for maybe Naruto, but..."

Her face made an 'O' shape as realization set in. It was Naruto who complimented her. It was so obvious now.

She felt her world shattering even more around her. It was always Naruto; her grown feelings for Sasuke never truly progressed past a childhood crush. Her love for him was based upon a whim.

But then; what did that make of her feelings for Naruto? Part of her wanted to be angry with him for toying with her emotions, but that notion was squashed by logic. Her twelve year old self wouldn't even have bother talking to him. She would have run away, or insulted him. _Kids are cruel._

Did she...love Naruto? That question caused her to fall against the damp, concrete wall, as her inner provided the answer.

"I...love Naruto..." Sakura whispered without knowing, loud enough for Sasuke to hear. The Uchiha's eyes widened in shock; never in one thousand years would he have expected her to say that. Not even when he had his bouts of jealousy; Sakura had always _loved _him.

So why didn't he feel bad about her confession? A humorless smile spread across his face; his earlier statement about their marriage being a mistake ran through his head, and he knew it was true. Sakura, it seems, had always loved Naruto. She never realized it until it was too late.

"Seems I'm the dead-last now, huh?" He said, almost in amusement. A sad smile spread across her face, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"We really, _really _fucked up, didn't we?" She said, feeling her ex-husband nod slightly.

"Sakura." His serious tone caused her to look up, her eyes still glistening with tears. He sighed, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Promise me...promise me that after I'm gone, and when the dobe returns, you patch things up with him. It's...my dying wish for you two to find happiness. I can see now how much...pain we've both caused him." Sasuke said, a frown on his face as his actions played over in his mind. Attacking Naruto, leaving the village, the jealousy, marrying Sakura without his consent.

Sakura, too, was remembering everything she had done, though not a day goes by where she doesn't regret her actions. Those thoughts left her in a mess of tears and frustration at herself.

"Haruno-san, it's time to go." A weasel-masked ANBU said, opening the cell door. Sakura stood up, before giving Sasuke a peck on the cheek.

"Goodbye..." They whispered at the same time.

* * *

"What's going on?" One Ino Yamanaka yelled as she dragged Shikamaru to the middle of the village. A large crowd was growing and bustling at the steps to the Hokage tower, where a large stand was set up. Their eyes widened when they saw a man garbed in pitch black clothing, an eery, pointed mask on his face, concealing his identity. He brandished a large, razor-sharp katana in both of his hands.

The crowd grew in volume as the Hokage walked up to the stand, two ANBU following her with a prisoner in tow, whose face was covered in a grey bag.

Tsunade raised her hand, and the sounds of the villagers dimmed. "People of Konoha! Today is the day, where we put to rest...one of the oldest clans we have ever known." She said, and the citizens of the village looked at each other in confusion.

The bag was ripped off the captive's head, revealing Sasuke Uchiha. The villagers instantly grew completely silent, shocked and amazed expressions on their faces.

"Sasuke Uchiha...has murdered the elders and Konoha shinobi in cold blood. For that traitorous act, he will be put to death. Sasuke...any last words?"

"...I'm sorry." Was all he said, as he was lowered to his knees, his neck placed onto a pedestal. His eyes found Sakura, who was clutching her father, Kizashi, desperately as tears fell from her eyes. They met gazes, their sorrow mirroring only each other's. He mouthed another apology to her, and closed his eyes just as the executioner swung the blade down.

He felt nothing as his head was removed from his shoulders. It fell from the stand, into a basket, where it was promptly burned, preventing the eyes from ever being used.

Sasuke, the last of the once great Uchiha clan, was no more.

* * *

Naruto finished off the group of shinobi they were fighting by snapping the last nin's neck. They had just cleared out another prisoner hold; much to their dismay, there were no survivors left.

Letting the body fall to the ground, a bloody Naruto walked over to his comrades who were now outside, basking in the warm, summer sun. A scowl formed on his face. _Lucky bastards don't have to wear a huge ass cloak. Maybe I should have dyed my hair.._

"Damn...I'm starting to get worried. Seven camps, and no survivors." Yamato remarked, as he slid off his mask to take a swig from his canteen. He then threw the container to Naruto, who nodded in thanks before finishing off the water.

Wiping the residue from his lips, he slid his mask back over his face. "Have they figured out who's leading these guys?"

Kakashi shook his head as he unraveled his map, checking off the base they just cleared out. A screech sounded overhead, and the ANBU looked up to see a messenger hawk gliding down.

The bird landed on Kakashi's outstretched arm, and he took the miniature scroll from it's leg before letting it go. The animal soared into the air, and went in the direction of Konoha.

The copy-nin unraveled the scroll, and couldn't contain the gasp that escaped his lips. "What is it?" Yamato asked.

Kakashi paused, before looking at his two teammates. "Sasuke Uchiha has been executed."

* * *

A/N: DAT TWIST.

review plox. :)


	10. Oh

_****_A/N: Kind of a short filler. Nothing too gruesome this time, so no worries.

OH LAWD. Almost 300 reviews, 36,000 hits, around 290 followers. You guys are amazing. Seriously. I'm glad you are liking this! :D

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 10 - Oh.**_

* * *

"Oh."

That wasn't the reaction Kakashi nor Yamato were expecting. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Huh. I wonder why they executed him?" Naruto asked nonchalantly, sliding off his mask to take a bite of an apple he had in his hands. His superiors looked at him in shock; his face was completely impassive, as if the news of his once-best-friend's death was something he already knew about, and didn't care for.

Ignoring his subordinate's indifference, Kakashi reread the scroll. "He killed the elders, and a few shinobi and ANBU, because they tried to put him into the CRA." He said. His eyes were clenched closed, a feeling of despair hitting him for a moment. He mourned his old student's death, and silently paid his respects. He hoped that wherever he was, Sasuke found the peace he could never find in this world.

The copy-nin had always noticed the last Uchiha's uncomfortable demeanor and tense expressions when he was in Konoha. The place bode alot of terrible memories for him. It wasn't home; nowhere was.

Naruto's face scrunched up a little, until he remembered what the CRA was. "Ah. I see." He replied. He felt a twinge in his chest when he heard some of his ANBU comrades were killed, and a small frown formed on his face.

He stood up, and walked towards the edge of the clearing. Sighing, he glanced back. "I'm gonna take a walk. I won't be far."

The blonde strode away calmly, glancing around the forest, enjoying the nature that surrounded him. He ended up finding a large oak tree to sit by as emotions, long forgotten emotions and thoughts, flew through his mind.

He slumped down onto the bark, palming his face with his hands as his mind reeled. Sasuke was dead. Killed. Gone.

Kakashi had followed Naruto, and observed his huddled form. The blonde was trembling; shaking visibly. The copy-nin frowned. _Looks like he's taking it pretty hard..._

The trembling grew, and Kakashi knew he was crying. He was about to leave, when he heard something he never thought he would ever hear at a time like this.

Naruto was laughing. "Pffft...hahaha!" He bellowed, his face now appearing from his arms, teary, grinning and borderline insane. Kakashi frowned. _This is even worse than I thought... _He mused, before he turned to go back to the camp.

The blonde kept laughing hysterically as his sensei left. He found it hilarious, absolutely _amusing _that Sasuke had been killed.

He had spent the majority of his teen years training for, working towards and just being completely focused on the task of bringing Sasuke back. And the very place he had fought so hard to bring his old friend back to was the place that killed him. Not Orochimaru, not the Akatsuki, not Itachi; Konoha.

_The bastard is actually dead..._ He thought as he continued to chuckle. He didn't know what he was feeling; happiness or sorrow?

He almost felt bad; the last words he said to Sasuke were words of hate and scorn. But deep, deep down, he held onto his hatred. He knew it was folly and immature, but the two Uchihas had drove him to ANBU; drove him to the hellish paradise that is Otogakure. _It's a shame I couldn't kill him myself._

At that thought, he froze, his eyes widened. _Where the hell did that come from?_ Never, not in a million years, would he ever even think of killing a comrade. Sure, he'd threaten Sasuke with death a few times, but never as serious as his previous musing.

At times, he wished he had never joined ANBU. There was still a part of him, a very small part, that longed to be in Konoha with _all _of his friends. Perhaps, he would sometimes think, he was just being childish and overly jealous.

He wondered how Sakura was doing. _Probably crying because her Sasuke-kun is dead. _He thought bitterly.

But now what? He had left Konoha to get away from Sakura and Sasuke. The possessive part of him wanted to swoop in and take Sakura for himself, then he squashed that part down with a simple fact; he no longer held that particular affection for Sakura, or anyone for that matter.

The ever-growing sadistic part of him, the one that _enjoyed _his life in Oto, wished for the pinkette to suffer. Oh yes, he wanted her to feel the pain he had felt for years. His heart, the thing that held his positive feelings and love for everything, was crushed. Ruined.

And now he is what he is. An emotionless, faceless killer. His love for his friends, his comrades; it was replaced. Replaced by the unsatisfiable desire to slaughter each and every ninja Otogakure offered. And he loved every second of it.

Of course, he was still _Naruto_, in a sense. He adored his village. He fought, bled and killed for it's safety. Hell, he loved the world and it's people. But he held no place in society anymore.

He could feel it; feel himself falling deeper and deeper into darkness. Sooner or later, he would plunge totally into it, never to return. Insanity; something he never thought he would have to face. A deep, consuming feeling filled him in Oto. It was exciting and frightening.

He suddenly felt crazy. He had just _laughed _at Sasuke's death. "What the hell...is wrong with me?" He muttered, clenching his gloved fists. Kakashi had warned him, many times, about losing himself in his occupation. But Naruto felt it was already too late.

It had happened to countless Black Ops soldiers in the past; they see stuff they weren't ready for, and become entranced and absorbed into their own psychopathic tendencies.

But he could still think rationally; he knew that would never change. He still remembered Kakashi's words, after the ANBU exams and his first kill. All of the torment, the pschological torture he had dealt with his whole life, had piled up. That's the only reason why he enjoyed what he did. It _had _to be, or else he was no less worse than the very men he took down.

For a moment, he wished he were sixteen again. Back in the days when he was happy; he had big dreams of saving Sasuke, winning Sakura's heart and becoming Hokage.

Naruto had a sudden urge to leave; to go to Konoha, and see all of his friends, and have a -_oh god yes- _bowl of ramen. But then he remembered he was on his probationary period. He was stuck here for another three years.

_Three years..._ He mused, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

* * *

Sakura knelt at the Konoha Memorial Stone, tears dripping from her eyes. Her fingers tips grazed over countless names, people she wished were alive so she could have some _guidance. _Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Jiraiya the Sannin, Rin Nohara...Sasuke Uchiha.

Years ago, she had heard everything about the shinobi of Konoha's past; the love story of Naruto's parents, the tragedy of Obito's unrequited love, and her mentor's own complicated relationship with the late Toad Sage. All of them mirrored her own shattered friendship with Naruto, and the feelings he once shared for her.

The past few days, she had been a wreck. Sasuke was dead. Naruto was gone. She hadn't left her house; she had moved back in with her parents after the execution. The apartment held too many memories, both good and bad.

So what should she do about Naruto? She had no idea. She needed help. Jiraiya never hated Tsunade; she wasn't dead like Rin, and they never ended up in a relationship like Minato and Kushina.

Standing up, she slowly walked home. Perhaps her parents had some advice; they too, in a way, mirrored Naruto and herself. Though, that was before everything went to hell.

Eventually, she found her way to her large house, near the outskirts of the village. Opening the door, she was greeted with the smell of fried shrimp and rice.

"Oh, Sakura!" Her mother, Mebuki called cheerfully as she stirred the rice. The blonde-haired woman had tried to maintain a happy atmosphere within the Haruno household, and it was slowly getting to Sakura's melancholy. Kizashi was lazily leaning against the kitchen counter, eyeing the food with anticipation, a grin on his moustached face.

Sakura's stomach growled slightly, and she found herself staring at the food hungrily. As the two pink-haired Haruno's watched Mebuki cook, they were enamored by the scent of it.

Soon after, the dishes were prepared, and they were all sitting at the table, eating in a comfortable silence. Mebuki and Kizashi eyed each other, and their daughter, warily. They were ex-shinobi; sensing emotions was a gift they all had.

"Sakura-chan, is something wrong?" The man asked as he set down his chopsticks, his normally cheery face serious and filled with worry.

She sighed. "Mom...Dad...I think I really messed up."

"What do you mean?" The woman asked, and Sakura began to tell them everything.

"Sasuke-kun...I found out, the day he was..." She swallowed thickly, fighting back the tears. "The day he was executed. I found out my love for him...it was all based upon a whim of a 12 year old girl's crush." She admitted softly.

Oh yes; the impact of Naruto's sad attempt to talk to Sakura after they were assigned teams had affected Sakura so deeply, a 'love' was based upon a compliment. Despite her fiery, confident nature during the graduating years of the Academy, Sakura was still extremely self-conscious.

Her forehead, years after the teasing stopped, still bothered her immensely. She remembered her thoughts that day; how Sasuke would never notice her, because the only thing in proportion was her large forehead.

So when 'Sasuke' had said those things to her, she had 'known' that they were meant to be. Her childish crush had turned into love for the completely wrong person.

Her parents looked at her with frightened looks. They knew how emotional Sakura was; her entire being was her feelings. Everything she did was because of what she felt.

"What do you mean, hun?" Mebuki asked, finishing up her shrimp. Sakura huffed, and pushed a few strands of vibrant pink locks out of her face.

"You guys remember how insecure I was about my forehead...the day we got our team assignments, Sasuke had complimented me on it." She said, and Kizashi raised a brow. His daughter had complained as much as she fawned over Sasuke; about how he never noticed her, about how she would change his heart.

Something was wrong with the idea of a brooding, twelve year old Uchiha complimenting one of his many 'girls'. "As it turns out...it was really Naruto who had complimented me. He knew that it would be impossible to talk to him, and he knew about my feelings for Sasuke...so he henged into him, and complimented me. Just so he could find out how I felt about him."

Her parents were shocked, especially when they heard Naruto's name. He had become somewhat of a taboo in their house, ever since Sakura had came over, crying over how bad she had messed up and how Naruto had left.

"All the feelings...the love I had for Sasuke...it was always Naruto." She said brokenly, and her mother quickly pulled her into an embrace. No tears came, but the female member of what once was Team 7 trembled slightly.

"Shh. It'll all work out." Mebuki gently said, holding her daughter. The woman couldn't even imagine what Sakura was dealing with; not only was her marriage false, but she had harbored feelings for the boy she had always shoved away?

"I'm sure he'll come around, Sakura-chan. Naruto's a good kid; from what I remember, he's a very forgiving person. He'll see your side of the story...I know it." Kizashi said, grinning.

"Don't lose hope." Mebuki said, and Sakura nodded, comforted by her parent's words.

Leaving her mother's embrace, she stood up. "I'm going to go see Tsunade-shishou...I'll be back by dinner, hopefully."

* * *

Tsunade's gut clenched as she read the lazy sprawl of Kakashi's hand writing. A few moments prior, a letter had arrived via Pakkun.

_Hokage-sama,_

_I'm not sure what to think of this. Ever since he joined ANBU, Tenchi has gotten increasingly darker and uncaring. When we left for Oto, I remember promising you to keep tabs on him.  
_

_When I told him about Sasuke's demise, he literally acted as if it were nothing. He just sat there, an almost bored expression on his face.  
_

_And then he laughed. He went out for a walk, sat down and began laughing maniacally, as if Sasuke's death were the funniest thing in the world.  
_

_I honestly don't know what's happening to him. Never in all my years as a captain have I seen someone so immersed in ANBU protocol, nor have I encountered someone who took such...satisfaction in killing like this. Not even Zabuza was like this.  
_

_He's unfeeling, cynical and he's starting to unnerve me.  
_

_I'll keep you posted. I recommend you don't take him off the rosters when the three years are over. If he returns, Sakura will try to seek comfort from him, as he's the only truly reliable person she's ever known. That could end badly, especially with his sadistic tendencies as of late. I don't want to think about what would happen.  
_

_Give my condolences to Sakura,  
_

_Doshi.  
_

Her eyes stared at the last name for a moment, before she set the letter down, and took out a bottle of Sake. Squad 14, like all ANBU personnel, had code-names to prevent any unwanted eyes from finding out who they were underneath the mask.

Kakashi was Doshi, Yamato, already a codename, reverted to his original moniker of Tenzo, and Naruto, ironically, was named Tenchi. _Heaven and Earth. _Tsunade thought sadly.

The tragedy of what once was Team 7 mirrored her own relationship with Jiraiya, though not to this extent. She was never in love with Orochimaru, and Jiraiya was a lecherous peeper.

A knock on her door cut her off from her thoughts. "Come in." The blonde Hokage said lazily, and the door opened, revealing her pink-haired apprentice. The once-useless girl was an accomplished medic-nin. Tsunade couldn't be prouder, though she still frowned upon her decision to marry Sasuke.

"Shishou...can I talk to you?" She asked warily, and the Hokage nodded.

Sakura sat down in the soft, comfortable couch next to her mentor's desk, and patted the spot next to her. Tsunade, carrying a couple bottles of sake, padded over, handing the pinkette one.

"What's up, Sakura?" Tsunade asked as she took a sip of her drink, lounging back into the sofa.

"Tsunade-shishou...if Jiraiya-sama were alive right now...what would you do?" She asked. The elder medic raised a golden brow at Sakura's question, but a sad, wistful smile formed on her face.

"I'd punch him in the gut, send him through a wall then take him out on a date." Tsunade replied, laughing slightly. The pink haired woman smiled as well, and sighed.

"Why did you ask, anyways?" The Hokage questioned. "I really...really messed up Tsunade-shishou. Naruto...he...I..."

She slammed her hands onto her face, and slumped down. The Hokage understood already; she had heard of her confusing feelings for Naruto, and now it seemed they had come to light.

Wrapping an arm around her apprentice, she began to speak. "Never give up hope, Sakura. Didn't years with that baka teach you anything?"

Sniffling, Sakura looked up to see a soft, caring, almost motherly smile on the old Sannin's face. "I guess not..heh..." She said quietly.

"Sakura. Love...is a very fickle and hard thing to fully understand. Years of experience aren't enough. Truly _feeling _love; that's how you can become complete."

"Tsunade-shishou...I want to go on missions full-time again. I enjoy working in the hospital, but I want to get out more. I...want to become someone worth enough to be near Naruto. To work with him, to talk with him...to be with him." She admitted, and as the words flowed out of her mouth, her resolve hardened.

The Hokage marveled at Sakura's ability to bounce back and take charge. _She's just like you, Naruto._

"Kakashi...sends his condolences."

"Where is he?"

"On a mission. He sent the letter this morning." Tsunade said, and the pinkette nodded.

"I'll have Shizune take your duties. Your missions will begin tommorow; you'll be working with Neji, Hinata, Kiba and Lee from now on. Go get some rest."

"Oh, and Sakura..." The Hokage called out as she cleaned up some folders on her desk. Sakura looked back, 'hmm'ing in question.

"The brat's going to need you when he comes home." She said, not bothering to look to see her apprentice's eyes light up in sad hope. As Sakura left, Tsunade turned to look out the window.

_You big idiot. We never did have that date you promised me.  
_

* * *

A Rabbit-masked ANBU plunged his blade through the back of the neck of his enemy. The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head as his windpipe was impaled, and he died seconds later.

Naruto didn't see it in time; as he pulled the katana from the man's neck, a kunai with an exploding tag attached to it whizzed by him. His eyes widened when he saw the device light up, and squeezed them shut when the light brightened.

His ears popped when the tag exploded. His face burst into pain, and he was flung back into a tree. He faintly heard his name yelled over the loud ringing sound in his ears and the ambience of war in the background.

His eyes opened, and they stung, but they were relatively undamaged. He felt his mask crumble into a multitude of pieces and fall off of his face, landing on the forest floor.

He frowned. He enjoyed that mask, and now it was crumbled. With it, he could feel any slivers of humanity he felt for his opponents shatter, and he flipped off his hood, his eyes flashing to red as his demonic side took hold. Although the Kyuubi's chakra was unusable, whenever he felt angry and malicious, Naruto's eyes would become crimson and slitted.

He casually walked over, ignoring the battling nin that were around him. Squad 14 had linked up with another set of ANBU teams, and they were taking down a large outpost, deep within Oto territory. He picked his sword up from the ground, and watched as his comrades finished off the last of the nin.

One particular Oto-nin desperately charged at the blonde, and the Black Ops soldiers could only watch in awe as the man, who was formally known as the dead-last, dispatched his enemy. He appeared behind the shinobi, kneeing him in the back, causing him to fall onto his torso.

The Kyuubi vessel then gripped the blunt edge of his sword with his left hand, and facing the blade towards himself, placed it at the Oto-nin's neck and pulled it back violently, tearing the man's head off his shoulders. The scream didn't even leave his throat.

After wiping the blood off of his blade, Naruto stood up, and sheathed it. Kakashi and Yamato walked over as the other Konoha-nin left, and frowned at their teammate.

He licked the crimson fluid from his lips absently, glancing down at his broken mask. "I need a new one."

"I can make one for you. Rabbit again?"

"No...I think I want to change it. It will still be honorable to Zabuza-san...and I think it suits me better. I want a Demon mask." He stated, and Yamato nodded once before forming a set of hand seals.

Kakashi stared into the dull, blue eyes of his once-cheerful student. _A demon mask? _He wondered. He gave up, months ago, on understanding Naruto. He couldn't complain; Naruto got the job done. He was easily one of the best ANBU shinobi he had ever met.

He just hoped, in the coming years, he wouldn't lose sight of who he truly was. He could see now, just by looking into his eyes, the old Naruto was completely gone.

Kakashi didn't want to deal with another Obito.

* * *

A/N: Yeah. Not too exciting, but next chapter will be stellar. And longer.

Next chapter: Ambush.

Review! :D


	11. Ambush

A/N: Finally got this bad boy done. It's pretty dark; it might be a little too much.

I've got a good portion of the rest of the story figured out, but things are likely to change.

Enjoy!

**Warning: The following chapter contains dark scenes; torture, violence and death. Read at your own risk.**

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 10 - Ambush**_

* * *

-One Year Later-

A scream echoed through the air, piercing the silence like a blade through flesh. A calming breeze blew through the tree's, rustling the leaves and bushes.

In a clearing, two Black Ops soldiers stood in front of a tree, where their comrade was tracing a shuriken along a man's body, cutting deep into the skin. Blood pooled below him.

The man's fingers were crushed; his legs broken. Tears poured down his cheeks as he stared with blurry eyes into the empty, black gaze of his interrogator. Those deep, onyx holes held no soul; no remorse.

A slight chuckle sounded from within the torturer's mask. "Tell me, Daisuke...do you know what happens when you attempt to use high-level medical ninjutsu without any practice, nor perfect chakra control?"

Daisuke swallowed thickly. His hair was drenched in sweat and blood, and his eyes were fearful. He had made the mistake of sleeping on guard duty at the camp he was assigned to; the ANBU had captured him in his slumber, effortlessly.

"If you do not mend the bone and tissue perfectly, it alters the body at a cellular level. Mutation, altercations and, if the person is _truly _unexperienced, complete cellular annihilation. Organs will shut down, blood will literally boil, bones will shatter; it's not pretty." Another chuckle sounded, echoing through the area as the masked man put away the bloody shuriken.

"Daisuke, I have to admit, I have terrible chakra control."

Another scream, even worse than the others broke, the silence once more.

* * *

A squad of Chuunin rushed through the trees on their way back from a diplomatic mission to the land of Lightning. A squad of Konoha's brightest, sent to deliver and negotiate a trade agreement with the land's Daimyo and Raikage.

They were travelling through unclaimed territory; the reminents of Otokagure.

A woman with long, flowing pink hair jumped beside a woman with equally long lavender hair. The pinkette's viridian eyes were stern and focused, as if getting home was the only thing important to her.

It was a tough year for Sakura. Her time in the hospital had severely put a dampener on her combat skills, and she learned by her second mission she was severely out of shape. But she took mission after mission, barely taking a break; her friends worried for her.

"There's a clearing over there. We should make camp; storms about to hit." A man with pale, lavender eyes and dark brown hair said, pointing to a meadowish area. The squad entered the large expanse, and were about to make camp, when a series of explosions rocked the earth.

The trees all around them exploded and splintered; Kiba was clipped by a stray exploding tag, and a good chunk of his side was blown out. He screamed in pain as he was thrown to the ground, blood flowing everywhere.

A dozen figures leaped into area, and the Konoha-nin recognized their headbands as those from Otogakure.

"AMBUSH!" Neji yelled as the figures rushed forward, and the clearing burst into a warzone. Kunai and shuriken flew everywhere as the shinobi from Konoha began to battle the nin from Oto.

"Oi! Akio! Check the legs on pinky over there!" One of the men said, a lecherous grin on his face as he eyed Sakura up and down. She was standing next to Hinata, whom she was protecting. The Heiress was attempting to stop the bleeding of her long-time teammate.

"Heh. She's not bad lookin'. I think camp 115 needs more playthings; those two will be good for them." Akio sneered, licking his lips as he stared at Hinata. The girl paled, and focused on her task while her small band of comrades battled the nin.

Lee roundhouse kicked a man in the jaw, sending him flying across the clearing, but the green-clad shinobi was stabbed in the shoulder by a barbed, poisoned kunai.

Sakura was about to stand up and help him, but Neji stopped her after he slammed his palm into one of his enemy's chests, effectively stopping the man's heart completely. "Sakura! Focus on helping Hinata-sama heal Kiba! Lee will be fine!" He yelled, before quickly running through hand seals. He was right; the taijutsu master pulled out the weapon, stabbed himself with an antidote, and went back into the fray.

A plume of smoke erupted when he tapped the ground, and a large hawk appeared. The Hyuuga prodigy quickly scribbled down an SOS message, and stuck the small scroll onto the leg of the bird. "Find the closest Konoha-nin, and deliver that message!"

* * *

Three faceless ANBU gathered around a large tree. A Dog masked ANBU was crouched low on the forest floor, tracing a map with a dulled kunai. Another, one wearing a Cat mask, leaned up against the bark, his arms crossed.

The final, a Demon masked Black Ops soldier, was sitting on one of the larger branches, tossing a sharpened dagger up in the air, catching it, and repeating the action. He was whistling a happy tune, and appeared to be enjoying himself.

Thunder rolled overhead. The kunai-tossing shinobi looked up to see dark, stormy clouds rolling across the sky, threatening to drench the area at any second.

"Well, Daisuke told us nothing...what now?"

"She's given us a choice for the next mission; we can either take down a supply route, five klicks east of this position..." The Dog masked soldier said, pointing to the spot with his weapon.

"Or we can head near the capital and take out one of their supposed outposts." He finished.

"It's up to you, Tenchi. What ever you feel like doing." Cat stated, causing the man on the branch to stop his action.

"Let's take the supply route. Hopefully we can snag something good to eat. I'm getting sick of the berries and venison." He said simply, before returning to his whistling.

They were about to move, when an eagle called loudly from overhead. They glanced up to see the bird, swooping down.

Tenchi held his arm out when he saw that it was a Konoha messenger eagle, and it landed gracefully on the limb. He took the small scroll from the animal's leg, and set it loose. It soared into the air as the ANBU unraveled the message.

"Tenzo, Doshi-taichou. Looks like we're not going after the supplies." Tenchi said, dropping the note down to the Dog ANBU. The man's eyes widened under his mask.

"A squad of chuunin got ambushed on their way back from a mission, near the border...seems like they're in trouble. Let's move." He stated, before they began to pack up.

Tenchi strapped his black and orange hilted blade to his hip, tightened his cloak around his body, and stretched.

"It's a few miles to the south-east of here." He said, and the ANBU team jumped into the trees.

* * *

A half hour later, and the soldiers could already hear the screams of fighting and combat in the distance, almost an echo thanks to the now falling rain. It was a relentless downpour.

A pair of darkened blue eyes scanned deep into the trees, searching for any movement. Gradually, the sounds of battle grew louder, and they came upon a clearing.

It was a mess as the ANBU team landed at the edge. The Chuunin were just barely holding on.

Tenchi's breath caught in his throat when he caught the sight of his old comrades Neji, Lee and Chouji. A small glance to a good thirty meters to his left, and he saw a sight he never thought he would see again.

_Sakura._

She was healing what looked like a downed Kiba Inuzuka.

Tenchi felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He saw Tenzo nod to him, and he gave him one in return.

* * *

"Shit, Sakura, one's coming for you!" Neji yelled as an Oto-nin slipped past his defenses, and rushed towards the unprepared medic-nin.

She looked up in shock. She didn't have the time to cancel the healing jutsu and prepare a fist of chakra. The Oto-nin drew close, a kunai in hand. As he got in proximity, she had enough time to slap the weapon away, but was then tackled by the man.

He straddled her waist, a sick grin on his face as his yellowed teeth glinted. She panicked as the black mark visible on his shoulder began to pour over the rest of his body. Her arms were pinned above her head, and she desperately thrashed around, trying to break free from the inhuman grip the man now had.

"You're a feisty one. I think I might have some fun with you right here, right now..." He said, grinning evilly as he held both of her wrists with a single mutated hand, while the other traveled to her body, lightly tracing his kunai over her clothes.

Time seemed to slow down for Sakura as she saw a masked shinobi leap from the bushes and tackle the nin to the ground. Mud splattered everywhere as the two wrestled. They slid along the mucky earth for a few meters, until they stopped, both struggling to gain the advantage.

The ANBU straddled the Oto-nin, and wrenched the kunai from his grasp. He plunged it down, but was caught by his enemies hands.

The blade was a few inches from his heart, and the Oto-nin panicked as he struggled to keep it from piercing his chest. The curse seal had somehow faded, and he looked human once more.

"W-wait! Listen to me, stop! Wait, god fucking dam-!" He was cut off by being overpowered, and the dagger digging deep into his sternum. He gagged on his own blood as his lungs were punctured.

Not a few seconds later, he died. Tenchi stood up, leaving the weapon in his chest, and walked over to a stunned Sakura.

He paid no mind to her mental state, or her at all. "How is he?" He asked, glancing at his old friend Kiba. He had a deep, vicious wound in his abdomen that was bleeding profusely.

"H-he's bleeding out. I tried to close the wound, but it's too deep, and I'm almost out of chakra." She said shakily, still stunned by the death of her assailant.

"Give me your hand." The ANBU said, and her eyes shot up to stare into the black, shadowed holes of his mask. "What?"

"I said, give me your hand." He said, holding out his own gloved one. She raised a brow, but did as she was told. Their hands connected. Tenchi ignored the slight, miniscule flutter of emotion in his chest when they made contact, and focused on his task.

She gasped when she felt the majority of her chakra returning, siphoned through the Black Ops soldier's grip.

"Help me with this." He said stoically as he ran through a few hand seals; seals that were extremely familiar to her. It was a simple medical ninjutsu that all high-level shinobi used, and what novice medic-nin's learned during the first stages of their training.

He placed his hands, one over the other, above the wound, and a faint blueish-green glow surrounded them, speeding up the healing rate of Kiba's tissue.

Sakura placed her own hands on top of his after doing the seals, and the glow grew brighter.

Tenchi close his eyes as his mind caught up with recent events. After three years, he was quite shocked to see Sakura in Oto, of all places.

He was thankful his strong hatred of her and Sasuke had been buried and repressed; now a mere dislike and indifference. Emotions wasn't a thing he wanted to deal with; especially during a mission.

Soon enough, thanks to the combined efforts of the two shinobi, Kiba's wound closed up cleanly, leaving behind only moist blood. His breathing returned to normal, and after popping a blood-recovery pill into his mouth, his normal tanned skin color returned.

A scream alerted Tenchi and Sakura, and they looked up to see a charging Oto-nin, sword drawn, a scowl on his face.

Sakura watched in awe as her comrade ripped his own blade from it's sheath, countered his enemy's blow by kicking his sword away, and impaled the nin in the abdomen.

Even as the ANBU, Neji, Hinata and Lee took down their enemies, more Oto-nin jumped into the clearing; they were out numbered at least seventy to eight.

The silver-haired ANBU took down a trio of men with a single Katon jutsu, while Tenzo decapitated a rather boisterous shinobi that had insulted his manhood.

Tenchi landed next to Sakura, who was still finishing up the healing procedure on the Inuzuka. She glanced over to see his mask splattered and dripping with blood. A gasp got stuck in her throat as she could have sworn she saw a flash of blood red, slitted eyes. _There's...no way._

Suddenly, he launched forward into a squad of shinobi that were running through handseals.

He got a hold of one, and in a crimson flash, vanished to a spot in front of them, kunai at the man's throat.

"Don't make a move, or I slit your friend's throat." He said darkly, pressing the blade harder onto the soft flesh. The men froze, and reluctantly stopped doing their handseals. They cautiously approached the ANBU, glaring at him.

He smirked under his mask, and drew blood from the man's neck. He slightly struggled in his grip, a panicked look on his face.

"Hey now. No need for unnecessary killing, right?" A man wearing a deep black flak vest said, his hands raised in a surrendering gesture.

"Hm. I suppose you're right. But...that's not going to happen."

He swapped his kunai for one that was laced with an exploding tag, and jammed it into his captive's spine. The man spluttered in pain, and Tenchi made a ram seal; the tag was lit.

He kicked the nin forward, causing the squad to unconsciously catch his body; they realized too late it was a trap. Sakura covered her eyes as an explosion rocked the earth, sending blood and body parts everywhere.

Normally, she would have grimaced, and probably thrown up, but years of experience and dealing with death had made seeing violence almost nothing to her. But the sheer brutality and _efficiency _in which this particular ANBU dealt with his enemies -no, his _victims_-, shook her to the core.

The two other ANBU that were with him were easily dispatching the other nin. The chuunin were mostly safe. Kiba was still in rough shape, and Lee was knocked out. Neji had a pair of broken fingers from overusing his Juken. Hinata had chakra exhaustion, and Chouji had a minor concussion.

Tenchi sheathed his sword after wiping the blood off, and glanced at the sky. The rain pattered against his ceramic mask, washing some of the blood off, and he longed to take his hood off and experience the cold, refreshing water on his hair.

Sighing, he walked over to where the Konoha squad was now gathered. A few amount of enemies remained.

One such straggler desperately charged at Neji, intent of stabbing a kunai into his back. In a flash, Tenchi pinned the man to the ground, before violently gripping his head and snapping his neck.

He sighed after stepping off of the body, and didn't really care about the horrified looks his comrades were giving him.

"So...do you mind telling me why the hell Oto-nin are attacking us out of no where, for no reason?" Neji asked as they huddled around in a circle. The rain stopped pouring, and Lee went to go gather some firewood after making a comment about the 'flames of youth after a victorious battle'.

Doshi sighed. "You weren't exactly supposed to be in Oto. Didn't Hokage-sama say it was restricted?" A shake of the Hyuuga prodigy's head meant no.

"We've been in a covert war with Oto for around a year now. Mainly it's just us and a few other ANBU teams. A few of Orochimaru's subordinates took control of the forces, and have become increasingly hostile."

"Hey! One's still alive!" Chouji called, kneeling down next to a panting shinobi, who was covered in his own blood. Tenzo nodded to his Demon masked comrade, who walked over to the Akimichi.

He knelt down next to the prone form of the Oto-nin, a scowl on his face under the mask. _He's an ANBU..  
_

Sakura had knelt down as well, and went to heal the man, but Tenchi grabbed her wrist. She looked at him in shock, and he said nothing, merely shaking his head.

He suddenly picked up the enemy ANBU and dragged him over to the map that was placed on a large rock. He threw him onto the ground, and pinned a foot into the man's back while drawing a kunai from his holster. The cleats on his boot dug into the Oto-nin's skin, causing him to gasp in pain.

"We want information. You seem to be about ANBU rank; I want to know everything. Force deployments, supply routes, weapon caches...you get the idea. Point those out on the map, and you will receive healing and will be taken prisoner. If not..." He said darkly, trailing off as his fingerless gloves clenched around the hilt of the steel blade.

The nin spit out blood and smirked. "Go fuck yourself. I already know who you are. You've killed at least 100 of our men; _good _men. You're just going to kill me anyways." He snarled.

"Good men..? Hardly." The demon masked ANBU remarked.

The Konoha chuunin heard him sigh. The ANBU then wrenched one of the Oto-nin's hands, and slammed it onto the rock, before placing the kunai above his pinkie finger.

"Now...we can do this the easy way, and you tell us right now the information we want...or..."

He then chopped the blade down, slicing off the finger. Blood spewed from the wound, and the man forced himself not to scream. He whimpered in pain as a thin sheen of sweat began to form on his brow.

Sakura chewed the inside of her cheek in horror. _What kind of man is this? He's so...vicious..._

Tenchi placed the blade on his ring finger, observing the diamond engagement ring on it. He froze for a split second, before a chuckle sounded from within the mask.

Tenzo and Doshi tensed. They knew that laugh well. Their teammate was an expert in interrogation; he knew how to get into the enemy's head.

"Nice ring you have there. What's her name?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Her...name is Akari."

"Huh. Akari, eh? I bet she's good looking. Do you guys fuck?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

He pressed the blade harder. "Tell me."

"Y-yes!"

"Hmph. I bet you're incompetent. No doubt she's probably off fucking some other guy; your best friend, more than likely. Every time you go out, she's probably just waiting for you to leave the house, before they get together." He said, laughing humorlessly at the nin's evident anger and emotion.

"Stop fucking talking!" He screamed, trying to get free, until Tenchi used two of his fingers to hit his pressure point with a jolt of chakra, rendering most of his body useless. He leaned down to whisper in his prisoners ear, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

"And no matter what you do, no matter how much you suffer, she doesn't care about you. She's with you for the money; ANBU get paid _alot_. Live or die, it doesn't matter. You're _nothing _to her."

"Fuck YOU!" He screamed. Naruto humorlessly laughed.

"I wonder...does she know what kind of man you are? Does she know what you do, when you're away from home?"

"You don't know anything..."

"I've been to countless internment camps. I know _exactly _what you do. Which is why you confused me earlier when you said that I've killed _good _men. Men that have destroyed lives and families, killed innocent men, women and children, abducted civilians for their own personal uses. Experiments, sex-toys...you are the furthest thing from _good _men." He snarled, before violently slicing the man's index finger off. This time, the Oto-nin didn't hold back the scream that now escaped his lips.

"Do you fuck other girls, like she fucks other men? Have you raped an innocent before?" That question proved to be the breaking point for the man, and he burst into tears.

"S-shut up! Just stop talking! I'll give you the information!"

"Good man." Tenchi said, before quickly bandaging the wound on his hand and giving him a pen to mark the map with. The Chuunin were all staring at the ANBU agent in shock. Neji's eyes were wide in both slight fear and immense respect. _He completely used his feelings for his lover against him to make him crack...amazing._

The next half hour was spent discussing and recording various outposts and key points that the shinobi of Otogakure were using in their efforts.

"Alright. That's all I know." The captive said, looking eagerly at Sakura for some healing. She sighed and began to prepare to heal, but Naruto stopped her once more.

The man glared. "What's the deal? You said I would be your prisoner!" He yelled.

"Well, unfortunately, we don't have the resources, nor the time, and quite frankly, the patience for a captive. Especially one as loud as yourself. I'm sure Akari will mourn her loss." He said, and it seemed as if time had frozen.

In an instant, the man's gut was impaled by Tenchi's sword. His eyes widened as he spluttered up blood; his stomach was completed shredded. His insides were on fire as the bile filled into his abdomen.

As he went through unbearable agony, he stared deeply into the holes of the mask, and saw only icy blue eyes staring at him in return. As the blade twisted violently within him, he could have sworn that the cerulean eyes flashed to red, slitted orbs. Those were his last thoughts as the life left him.

Tenchi lowered the corpse to it's knees, before planting his foot on the man's chest and pushing the body off of his sword. He wiped the blood from the blade, before sheathing it.

Kiba was now awake, and he saw the whole thing. "Holy _shit, _dude. You're a fucking monster." He stated, now sitting up. It was more of a compliment then an insult, and that caused the ANBU to smile slightly under his mask. He missed his old comrades.

Doshi rolled up the scroll, running a hand through his matted, mud-caked silver hair. "We'll camp here for the night, then assist you guys on your way out of the country."

* * *

The group of Konoha shinobi were around a fire, all chatting amongst themselves.

A certain ANBU was away from the group, sitting with his back to a rather large tree. He was staring at the endless expanse of stars that dotted the night sky.

He glanced down at his gloved hands; the visible fingers were calloused and scarred. These were hands that have killed countless men.

He was unnerved by how that thought didn't even spark a single emotion within him. Kakashi had told him, after his first kill, that it was understandable; a life of misery, pain and anger caused him to become borderline apathetic towards other people.

In the year he had been in ANBU, he lost all of his humanity. The only people he could talk to were Kakashi and Yamato; any other ANBU they worked with were frightened of him, and he was frightened of himself.

His stomach rumbled slightly, and he pushed himself up. Gripping his sheathed blade with one hand, he walked over to the other nin.

He plopped down next to Kiba, piled some cooked fish onto his plate, and absently popped some of the meat into his mouth as he gazed into the fire.

"So...uh...what's your name?" The Inuzuka asked awkwardly, glancing at the ANBU next to him. The other shinobi snapped their attention to the duo.

He shrugged. "I don't have a name. If you really wish to call me something, I'm Tenchi." He said, the light of the fire flickering on his mask, casting an eerie shadow over the intricately designed porcelain object.

He looked up, and saw that his two ANBU teammates were now cuddled in their respective sleeping bags, dozing off. He figured they must have chakra exhaustion. It was a tough battle.

"How can you be so...calm about killing?" Neji asked.

"These...men...don't deserve your sympathies. I had to watch them pillage and rape a whole village; girls as young as sixteen were robbed of their innocence by these animals. At any rate, killing doesn't bother me."

They were all stunned at his story. Their shocked looks said everything. He scoffed silently under his mask. _They have no idea. That wasn't even the worst._

"But...your taking another man's life. They could have families; that man from earlier proved that. Doesn't that matter to you at _all_?" Chouji questioned, pausing in his gorging of food to stare at the man who had helped save their lives.

"That's not an issue. To me, death is...soothing. Inevitable. If I let them live, they could kill a comrade, or an innocent person, or worse. I merely quicken nature's course. I'm not going to go on about how my life has been harder than others, but it's been tough. Killing is a sort of...release. If it gives you any comfort, like I've said before, these men are beyond innocent."

"You, sir, are all kinds of fucked up. I'm glad you're on our side." Kiba said, patting him on the back. Just then, Akamaru came over, and discreetly sniffed the demon-masked ANBU. The man tensed when he felt the canine getting his scent.

The dog barked a few times and snuggled into Tenchi, while Kiba's eyes were wide in shock, fear and amazement. The white-haired canine had told his master of who it was under the mask. _Naruto...?_

A feral grin spread onto his face as he eyed the ANBU. "Man, if I had known it was you, I wouldn't have said that! Long time no see, U-" He was cut off by a palm slapping against his mouth. The other people at the fire watched their exchange with interest. Tenchi glared at the Inuzuka, who clearly got the message.

"Sorry, man." He whispered, earning only a nod in return. Exhaling his stress, the black ops soldier relaxed, and finished his food quickly. Kiba glanced at him, his face scrunched up in worry. _What happened to you, man? You're nothing like you were before...killing...torturing..._ A shiver ran down his spine. His old friend's coldness unnerved him.

Kiba suddenly felt like an idiot; he forgot that it was illegal to reveal a comrade's identity if they chose to hide it. Slapping a hand to his face, he grumbled under his breath at himself.

Tenchi allowed himself a small smile at his comrade's antics, and stood up after scratching behind Akamaru's ears for a few moments. "Thanks for the food. You are a very good cook, Akamichi-san." He said, bowing, before returning to his spot by the tree, the smile fading from his face. It was instinctual for him to fake a smile; even though nobody could see it, it was a reflex that he had.

He was getting slightly drowsy, but a crunch of leaves alerted him. He snapped his attention up, his hand on the hilt of his sword, but relaxed slightly when he only saw the pink-haired medic-nin walking towards him.

She plopped down next to him, as if they were old friends, and sighed.

"Thank you for saving me earlier. I froze up, and I probably wouldn't have defended myself properly."

She felt him shrug, and glanced at him. In the darkness, she couldn't see anything past those pitch black holes that should have revealed his eyes. _They were red...I know it..._

"Do...do you enjoy killing?" She suddenly asked, and he turned his gaze to the stars. A sigh escaped his lips.

"...Yes. It's sort of an outlet, but I believe that's the extent of it." He said, not really worried about how he was opening up to his old comrades. They were his friends; well, Sakura wasn't, and the rest of them could now be barely called acquaintances, but they were his long-time allies nonetheless.

The ANBU next to her spiked her curiosity. Something about him was eerily familiar; from his voice, down to his subtle mannerisms. She couldn't quite place on _how _familiar this particular shinobi was, though she had a sinking suspicion as to who it could possibly be.

"I see..." She said, trailing off. She was lost in her own thoughts; the past year, she had been doing non-stop missions, trying to better herself, to make sure that when Naruto returned, she could redeem herself in his eyes.

She missed him; his cheeky grin, the way his blue eyes would light up whenever he saw her, how he would do anything and everything just to spend some time with her. Those thoughts filled her with the guilt she had been dealing with ever since she married Sasuke; hell, ever since she slept with Naruto.

_Sasuke..._ She thought sadly. She also missed him; now that she could see past her 'love' for him, she could now see what Sasuke needed most was friendship. Her own idiocy ruined their bonds with Naruto, and pretty much got Sasuke killed.

But she wouldn't feel guilty; she had to stop living in the past.

Sakura didn't even notice the ANBU that was next to her shift away, and fall asleep. She scowled. _Well he's rude._

* * *

The ragged group of chuunin entered the Hokage's office. The blonde inside looked at them with a shocked expression; they were covered in blood, mud and sweat. The trip back had been rough; the ran into a few other squads of enemies, but thanks to their ANBU escorts, they made it out of the Land of Sound alive.

"We...ran into an enemy. Oto-nin. Hokage-sama...is it true? Is there a war going on?" The Hyuuga prodigy said as he held an unconscious Hinata bridal style.

"Hai...Otogakure has been on the move. We've sent multiple ANBU teams inside, but it's as if they have a limitless amount of troops at their disposal. I assume that, for the most part, the mission was a success?" Earning a nod from Neji, she dismissed them.

A pink-haired girl hung back. Her mind was reeling from her conversation with the demon masked ANBU from before. She was inspired and awed by him; his life style was so hard, so demanding, and yet, rewarding all the same. He and his team were among the few who were the sole line of defense preventing Otogakure from gaining power.

Perhaps this was a way to atone for everything she had done. Living in that sort of hell; maybe that's a way for her to be redeemed for the pain she put the man she loved through.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Shishou...I've been thinking. I want to try for a promotion."

"Oh? What were you thinking? Your skills grant you a wide set of path choices. You could become a Tokubetsu jounin, teaching the medical arts. Or perhaps you could train with me in the Slug Sage arts. There's also genin sensei..." Tsunade was interrupted, and her apprentices words shocked her.

"No. I was thinking...I want to join the ANBU Black Ops."

* * *

A/N: DAT TWIST #2.

eh, this was kind of foreshadowed a little bit in previous chapters. I threw little hints in there, but they probably flew over your heads.

Hope you enjoyed. Sorry if it was a little too gruesome, but I really wanted to nail in how messed up Naruto is now. Review! :D

in case anyone cares/is interested, Doshi means comrade, Tenzo means Heavenly Creation, and Tenchi means Heaven and Earth. These names are going to be used for a while, so just a heads up.


	12. Welcome to Squad 14

A/N: OH GOD I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME IT WAS A MISTAKE I SWEAR IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN.

sorry for the wait, haha. Christmas came along, and partys, and fun, and stuff like that. Then 615 came along and shattered my jimmies, but the NS feels are back.

AND HOLY GUACAMOLE, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. I want to thank each and every one of you beautiful, beautiful people for sticking with my story and reading it. 52,000 hits, 370+ reviews, 335 followers. You guys are amazing. :D!

Enjoy!

**Warning: Dark scenes ahead as always. Violence, etc.**

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 12 - Welcome to Squad 14**_

* * *

A wolf-masked ANBU stood in front of the Hokage's desk, tense and at attention. The blonde Senju stifled through a few papers, before stamping a few of them.

Tsunade was quite shocked, eight months ago, when her young apprentice, or rather, her equal, had come to her, asking for admittance to the ANBU Black Ops. She could still remember that moment like it was yesterday.

* * *

_**"You...want to join the ANBU?" The Hokage asked incredulously, a firm golden brow raised. A head of pink hair shook up and down, determination evident on Sakura's pale face.**_

_**"I do. My medic-nin duties...while rewarding, I think would be of better use in the Black Ops."  
**_

_**Tsunade frowned. Here was Sakura; a woman she had come to know as a daughter of sorts, a woman who she cared for more than she could ever realize. One answer came to mind.  
**_

_**"No."  
**_

_**"No?"  
**_

_**"I won't allow it. Sakura, you now know what it's like in Oto. If you join ANBU, you'll be put on a squad there, and will most likely die. You barely got away with your life this time; it won't be any different later on."  
**_

_**"Shishou, please. All I ask for is a chance. The ANBU...it's what I want-no, it's what I need." She implored, begging her mentor to see her side.  
**_

_**"Sakura...I can't put you through that. Not willingly. Your medical skills rival and even surpass my own. You're needed at the hospital; not off in a hellish nation with hundreds of thousands of men who would happily destroy you in ways I can't even describe." The Senju said darkly. She had already put a limit on the amount of female ANBU allowed in squads that were sent to Oto; many complaints about favoritism and sexism were filed, but Tsunade didn't give a damn.  
**_

_**She had kept most of the reports of friendly casualties under wraps. Kiri and Iwa had immediately ceased operations when many of their teams were captured and killed, the female members being the only ones who had survived. 'If you could call it that...' She thought darkly.  
**_

_**"You're not being fair! If we are to have any chances at successfully winning this, they'll need my medical prowess there! I can take care of myself." She huffed, crossing her arms. She was adamant about this decision. She needed to help her comrades there; it was like a force was pushing her to this decision, and she couldn't back down.  
**_

_**"See? You're not fit for this. You're being immature; you're too hot-tempered and emotional to be one of the ANBU.  
**_

_**Her apprentice's gaze saddened. A look Tsunade had become accustomed to lately. Sakura had often come to her, seeking advice and guidance, the majority of it having to do with the pinkette's wayward teammate.  
**_

_**"Shishou...please. You...know how I feel about my work. I need to do this; I need to atone for everything that I've done, and I need to redeem myself. I need to be able to even say I'm worthy of being his friend."  
**_

_**The Hokage's stern, emotional shell had cracked at the serious, wistful expression of Sakura. She stood up, and walked over to the girl.  
**_

_**Resting a palm on Sakura's shoulder, Tsunade frowned even more. The pinkette was even more stubborn than she; it would never end the arguements if Tsunade didn't agree.  
**_

_**"Are..you sure you want this, Sakura? I don't want anything to happen to you. You're my apprentice; hell, you're like a daughter to me."  
**_

_**"I'm positive shishou. How can I possibly be able to be around Naruto, when I can't even stand being around myself? Years ago...I promised myself I wouldn't be a burden anymore. Look what I've done. I'm not going to make any more mistakes. It's time I start doing something; something that will help me in the long run."  
**_

_**Tsunade's frown grew. She really didn't want this woman going into Otogakure; but right now, she had no choice. They were short on medics after a large batallion went missing. Only a handful of squads remained in Oto, and most of them were missing medical specialists.  
**_

_**"Okay...okay."**_

* * *

Reflecting upon that day, Tsunade felt as though she made a good choice. ANBU turned out to be a perfect motivator for Sakura. She was instantly entranced and absorbed by the ideals and motifs of the black ops.

That same girl who came into her office nine years ago, begging for apprenticeship and tutelage in the medical arts, was now standing in front of her as a fully fledged elite ANBU shinobi.

It was winter in most of the shinobi world; a light blanket of snow covered the village of Konoha as the late days of November began.

Tsunade hoped she was making another good decision by placing Sakura on a certain ANBU team that was now infamous in the corps; the highest kill counts, lowest amount of mission failures and lowest casualties had made them borderline legends in Konoha's ANBU force. They were rivaled only by the Fourth's own ANBU team.

_Squad 14...Icha Icha. _The busty blonde mused, finally filing the reports for Sakura's team assignment. It wasn't just a random team; Tsunade had ulterior motives for her placement.

"Alright. You're being assigned to squad 14, under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake, codename Doshi." Sakura's eyes widened slightly under her mask, a feeling of excitement creeping up in her at the thought of working once again with her old teacher.

"I'm also giving you a personal mission; Hatake has already been informed of it. As a medical ninja, you not only specialize in healing the body, but the mind as well. On your new team, there's a member by the name of Tenchi. I want you to watch him."

"Watch him, Hokage-sama?" She asked, and the blonde's face twisted into a dark frown. She had read the reports many times; her favorite gaki's mental state has deteriorated beyond anything she could have ever imagined, if the documents were accurate.

"Hai. I'll let your captain inform you on all of the details, but your job, alongside fighting with your team and healing them, is to try to get close to your teammate. If you can, get him to open up, and help him with his...issues. He's undergone some severe trauma, and I don't have the manpower to replace his value in this war. This is extremely important; also, under no circumstances are you to reveal your identity to him. It may cause some...difficulties."

Sakura raised a brow, but didn't question the Hokage. Her eight months in ANBU had, indeed, been good to her somewhat thing level of patience and understanding. She had learned long ago to hold her tongue.

"Anyways, they'll meet you at sector fourteen, near the neutral zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound. I've sent a messenger hawk to them; you leave in a day. Prepare yourself; I'm sure the reports you've read have given you an idea of what to expect."

The wolf-masked ANBU blanched under her mask; oh yes, she read the reports. Disturbing was an understatement; the vile men that made up Oto's forces disgusted her, and she was mildly afraid of going in there. But, she wouldn't be there alone.

"Your codename will be Hana. Good luck, Sakura. Dismissed."

As the woman made to leave, Tsunade spoke once more, quietly. "I'm sure _he'd_ be proud." She said, not really knowing why, given the ironic circumstances of what was going to be the new Squad 14.

Nodding once, allowing a small smile onto her face, 'Hana' left the office, her stride filled with purpose once more.

* * *

_I fucking hate the cold._

Tenchi leaned against a tree, bundled up in a winter camouflaged cloak. His sheathed sword sat beside him, and he absently trace a finger along the hilt as he read an orange colored book.

He hated winter; the cold and the snow brought back bad memories, memories he wished he could forget. It was almost distant, now; a snowy road in a village, him staring at her, both backed by two people. Viridian clashed with cobalt, white fluff lightly piled on their pink and blonde heads. Sighing as he pushed the memory out of his mind, he turned his attention to his book.

His captain had been right, years ago; reading the late Toad Sannin's perverted literature had helped him stay grounded in his bare essence of humanity. But, Tenchi still couldn't decide what he enjoyed more these days; slaughtering Oto-nin, or reading pornographic novels.

Over the years, he had embraced what he was slowly becoming. What he felt when he killed and tortured the 'men' he called his enemies was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It was _right_.

But, he never felt _happy_. He never felt safe, secure or warm as he did years ago, when he still retained his childlike innocence, even at 16. His long-time dream of Hokage filled him with a wistful sense of nostalgia; it was exactly that. A far-off dream from his youth. Of course, it was still his goal, but his life was more than that now. _Or is it less..?_

Thinking like this once again brought back the memories of the past; shoulder-length pink hair, vibrant green eyes, pale silky-smooth skin. He was happy to be completely over his love for Sakura, but somehow, it left him with a feeling of emptiness.

Years of loneliness and solitude had caused him to latch onto anyone that would allow it and place them in a spot within his heart. All of his old friends from Konoha once held a spot; Iruka was like an older brother, scolding yet affectionate. Kiba and Lee were good friends and rivals. Sasuke...was a brother, but that notion was long gone. And Sakura...she had held every bit of romantic attraction his being had allowed to give.

As the years in ANBU went by, his heart slowly locked itself away, never to be felt again. He couldn't even sense a feeling of longing for Konoha anymore. Any connection with his old friends, his comrades, was either gone or too small to even begin to affect him.

He could still feel the emotional wounds of the past; the longing, the jealousy, the anger, the hatred. He used these forgotten feelings; these memories of what he's felt before to cause unbearable agony and pain to his enemies.

Looking up to the pure, whiteish-grey sky, he thought of what he loved most about his occupation. The thrill of combat was also unlike anything he could every put into words. It was pure; something about the sounds of explosions, clanging metal and screaming soldiers, the smell of sulfur, blood and smoke, the sight of men charging at men, aiming to kill, soothed him. Death was something he had become accustomed to, like brushing his teeth, or performing a jutsu.

A figure burst from the trees, cutting him off from his musings; snow flew everywhere, creating a thin smog of the white, frozen water. Tenchi had gripped his sword, and was about to rip it from it's sheath, but relaxed when he saw his Cat-masked comrade.

"Tenzo, relax when you come out of the bushes next time, will you?" He said, pushing himself off the tree and picking up his blade. He strapped it to his back, and after making sure it was secure, he walked over to his teammate, stuffing his novel in a pouch he had on his belt. Tenzo chuckled lightly as he dusted some flurries off of a large, flat rock, and laid down the beaten and weathered map of the Land of Sound.

Another ANBU was there as well; his blue-accented dog mask fit in well with the wintery setting. He snapped shut his own smut-filled novel, and walked over to his two comrades. After double-checking the scroll he received from the Hokage in the morning, he glanced at his teammates, who were looking at him in earnest, awaiting their orders.

"A few things we have to do the next few days. There's been a large group of special-ops spotted ten klicks north-east of the bridge ruins, near a large ravine. We're going to recon the area and their force numbers, and if possible, take them down. Also, we're getting a new member to our squad, who will be a great asset."

"A new member?" Tenzo asked warily. He never thought Icha Icha would gain a fourth member, but then again, Oto had been making gradual advancement. The war was not going well, and every team needed to be at top performance.

"Hai. The Hokage is making efforts to make sure every team has an able medical specialist, and that's exactly what we're getting. We're meeting the new member tomorrow before we check out the ravine." He said, before giving a pointed look to Tenchi.

The demon-masked ANBU understood. He was to be on his best behavior, and at least _try _to help the new member fit in. Whenever they worked with their other ANBU comrades, Tenchi had trouble working with them effectively, due to his sociopathic personality.

He lost sight of how to react to people. He was only truly familiar with his two teammates nowadays.

Sighing, he adjusted the strap the held his sword, then flexed his body. "Let's get going."

* * *

"Where the _hell _is the new guy?" Tenchi asked, sitting on a rock. A frown was on his face under his mask. They had arrived at the rendezvous point within an hour, and had been waiting for at least another two.

He still didn't particularly like the idea of a new member in their squad. Icha Icha was a tight-knit group; Tenzo and Doshi were the only people Naruto trusted anymore. They all could relate to one another with their dark pasts.

Tenzo was taken as a child and experimented upon by Orochimaru; the Mokuton user had gone through unbearable torture of both mental and physical degrees. Kakashi was still coping with the death of his father, his sensei, Rin and Obito. In fact, when Obito was killed by Kakashi in the fourth war, Naruto thought his sensei was going to fall apart.

But somehow, they all made it through, and now they had formed a bond of comrades, friends and brothers. Adding another person to the mix would, in a way, upset the balance.

A figure suddenly appeared, walking out of a large bundle of bushes. They wore a cloak similar to Naruto's, and had a red colored wolf mask. The cloak was tight-fitting; the demon-masked ninja could see the ANBU was slender and well-built.

"Ah, you must be Hana, correct?" The dog-masked ANBU asked, walking over to greet the newcomer. He was the only one who knew of the newest Icha Icha member's identity.

"Hai." A female voice sounded from the mask, causing Naruto and Yamato to raise their eyebrows slightly. Last they heard, Tsunade had put a limit on female ANBU members allowed into the war, due to some disturbing events of captured squads.

"Very well. I am Doshi, the team captain. Welcome to Squad 14, Hana." He said, before leading her to the others.

Naruto kept his eyes on the woman, his brows furrowed. He wondered who it was; their voice sounded somewhat young, most likely around his age. He could see a few strands of deep, maroon colored hair flowing out of her hood and cloak, only adding to the confusion.

"This is Tenzo, the second in command." He introduced. The Mokuton user bowed.

Underneath the mask, a pair of green eyes widened. _So it is Kaka-sensei and Yamato-taichou. Then who's...?_

"And this here is Tenchi." Kakashi gestured to the Demon-masked ANBU, who gave a two finger wave before looking up to the clouds. The female ANBU stared at him for a few moments. _This is the guy Tsunade-shishou wanted me to watch? He doesn't seem that bad..._

She then remembered a year prior; this was the team of ANBU that helped them when her team was ambushed. She remembered this particular man very well.

When Tenchi went to scout around for food, Doshi walked up to Hana. "It's nice to see you again." He said; it was still a surprise to him that his old female student had decided to join the ANBU. _Sasuke's death must have really gotten her down to drive her here..._

"Hai. It's good to see you too, sensei. Tell me...what's the situation with Tenchi? Why would the Hokage want me to watch him?"

The silver-haired shinobi sighed as he watched Tenchi's form disappear into the snow. "He's been severely affected by his past traumas. Don't be afraid when he shuns you; he does that with anyone other than me and Tenzo. We can barely work with other ANBU as it is."

"As for what's wrong with him...that's what I'm worried about. There's nothing particularly _wrong _with him; he's still coherent, rational and can see logic. But when he gets into combat...I'm sure you remember."

Images of Tenchi effortlessly killing men, torturing without remorse and his apathetic nature flew through Hana's mind, and she felt a little queasy. The man unnerved her.

"He's extremely sadistic; it's not only the physical pain he causes our enemies. The mental damage is extensive as well. He enjoys it, in a way. Inflicting his own pain on others takes some of the stress off of his mind. But..."

"But?" Hana asked, her voice weak. The eight months of ANBU training had prepared her for the worst, but the more she heard about her new teammate, the more stressed she became. She didn't know if she could sleep next to someone like that.

"Some things have changed since you last saw him. He often zones out during combat, almost as if killing is the only thing that allows him to breathe. He has frequent night terrors, and he rarely speaks anymore."

"I see...and you want me to get close to him?"

"Hai. Try to show him some humanity. He needs it desperately. I feel like you might be able to help him." _Kami, I hope this doesn't end badly...if he were to find out who she was..._

He shuddered at the thought.

* * *

Squad 14 arrived at the ridge; it was a large area, with trees and rocks strewn everywhere. They glanced around, all wondering the same thing.

"Uh...where's the enemy?" Tenchi asked, an uneasy feeling filling his gut. A small shrug was his answer, and they all walked carefully towards the middle of the clearing.

He could sense it; multiple chakra signatures approaching them fast, most likely an ambush.

"Get down!" Doshi yelled, and Tenchi pulled a distracted Hana behind a rock just as a huge flurry of kunai hit the area they were just standing in. The ANBU's eyes widened when he saw the blades tear apart and shred the ground and trees that were there.

"I didn't _need _you to save me, idiot." A female voice sounded, an annoyed tone evident in her words. He raised a brow at the nostalgia he felt for the admonishment, but put the feeling behind him.

Glancing over the rock, he blanched when he saw the enemy. They were geared up in full-body chakra-absorbing armor, similar to what the samurai of the Land of Iron wear. On their wrists were large weapons, and belts of kunai wrapped around their arms. He recognized the weapons as the kunai launchers from the Land of Sky.

Pressed his index and middle fingers to his microphone, he keyed in to his captain. "Doshi-taichou, how the hell did they get that tech?"

"_I don't know. They must have salvaged it, or perhaps replicated it?_"

"Shit.." Tenchi muttered under his breath. He took out a kunai, wrapped it in an exploding tag, and braced himself. Hana looked over, and wondered what he was doing.

He did a cross-seal, and made a shadow clone, who sat in between the two ANBU. Recieving mental orders from his creator, the clone stood up and sprinted across the clearing, drawing the Oto-nin's fire. Hundreds of kunai flew in the copy's direction, destroying almost everything in their path.

Using the opportunity, Tenchi gathered as much chakra as he could in his hand, stood up and whipped the tag-laced weapon as hard as he could at the group of shinobi.

A few of them noticed and leaped out of the way, but three weren't as lucky. The kunai flew straight into one the men, slicing through his helmet and impaling his forehead completely. The tag lit, and the screams were caught in their throats as an extra-powerful explosion rocked the clearing, consuming them in a ball of fire and heat.

The ANBU winced; he felt the strain of the throw on his arm.

"Hana, cover me." Was all she heard before her comrade rushed into the clearing. She stood and followed him, noticing their other two teammates doing the same thing.

The Oto-nin were still slightly distracted, and they turned to see four ANBU charging them. They raised their weapons in preparation to fire, but Tenchi was too quick.

He tackled one of the men just as he pulled the trigger, and slammed his wrist into the ground. A flurry of the blades launched out of the weapon, and a stray kunai sliced into the ankle of one of his Oto comrades.

Tenchi flinched at the cold snow beginning to numb his fingers as he held the man down, but he ignored it. He quickly sliced the Oto-nin's neck open with a shuriken he pulled out of his holster, spilling crimson fluid onto the white snow.

He stood up, and waited for his teammates to finish mopping up the rest of the enemies. Tenzo had a deep gash in his side, but managed to tear his opponent's helmet off and stab him in the eye with one of his daggers. Doshi effortlessly took on two Oto-nin at once, using his doujutsu to read and avoid their attacks.

Tenchi raised a brow when he saw Hana take on three at once, and was surprised to see her doing surprisingly well. She was a whirlwind of taijutsu; he recognized her attacks as those that utilize chakra to enhance the impact of the blows. It wasn't too out of the ordinary, but it brought back some distant memories.

One of her opponents, a man without a helmet on his head, charged her, sword poised to strike. She roundhouse kicked the one she was dealing with, and in a smooth, flowing movement, slapped the man's sword out of his hand while launching a fist at his head. It connected with his jaw in an earthshattering blow; Tenchi could hear the bone literally shatter under her chakra-enhanced knuckles.

The man's head violently snapped back with a crack, and the ANBU heard the Oto-nin's neck snap. With that single punch, the battle was over.

Tenchi walked over, and said nothing, though he was slightly impressed. Tenzo whistled, before kneeling down, his wound finally catching up with him. The medic was instantly at his side, and the two made small-talk as she repaired the tissue and flesh.

The demon-masked ANBU walked over to his captain, and absently prodded the body the silver-haired shinobi was staring at.

"This could pose a problem..."

"I know...I'll let Hokage-sama know. We may need more manpower if there's more of these guys."

Tenchi felt a liquid run down his neck, and touched the spot with his fingers. Pulling them back, he cocked a brow when he saw blood on his fingertips. _I need to stop getting distracted in battle..._ He mused darkly as he applied a quick healing jutsu to his cut.

He didn't notice that if the blade hit a centimeter lower, he would have died.

* * *

"Are the seals all set up?" Naruto asked, watching the flames flicker about. Night had fallen, and the moonlight cast a glittery sheen across the snowy blanket that covered the forest floor.

"Yeah. Nothing can get close to us or hear us." Doshi replied, finishing up his fuinjutsu. The team had decided to make camp in an adjacent clearing a few kilometers away from where they took out the special-ops.

"Good."

Hana watched Tenchi carefully. The man stretched before lifting his hands to the back of his hood, and began to pull it off his head. He froze, noticing her gaze on him, and stopped before scratching the side of his head with his left hand. _I don't think it would bode well if she knew who I was. _He mused. The other people he had worked with prior had known who he was under the mask; they were all blatantly disturbed by how the once-cheerful orange-loving ramen fanatic had changed.

He flexed his right hand, a somewhat annoyed frown adorning his face under his mask. It still hurt and was stiff from the battle they had a few days before, but he couldn't tell what the problem with it was.

Finally, his eyes looked over to her once more. _Why is she staring at me like that?_

He sighed and scooted over. "You're a medic, right?"

She tensed at the close proximity, and nodded slightly. He took off his glove and forearm guard, and presented his arm to the kunoichi.

"Can you see what's wrong with my arm? It hurts to move, and clenching my fist is almost impossible." He asked, and she gently wrapped her hands around the limb, checking for damage with her chakra.

He frowned even more when he felt her chakra enter him; it was familiar. Eerily familiar. He couldn't quite pick out who it could belong to, though. Normally he would use his Senjutsu to detect her chakra, but all ANBU personnel now had modified tattooes to completely mask their identity, chakra-wise.

"Was that when you threw the kunai yesterday?"

"I believe so." He replied as the pain began to numb.

"The muscles were torn; jeeze, your chakra control really sucks. The amount of chakra you put in almost broke your wrist. Be careful next time." She said, finishing up her healing. He felt the tissue repair itself and mend back together, and he sighed in relief.

"No need to be rude." He said, not really caring in the slightest, as he shuffled back over to his spot. She frowned at him under her mask. _This guy..._

Deciding she might as well start her 'mission', she pushed herself over to lean on the tree her demon-masked comrade was also resting upon. She could sense his irritation, but she wouldn't give up.

"How long, exactly, have you guys been out here?"

No response.

"Are you from Konoha, or are you transferred?" She asked. The Alliance recently had a habit of exchanging ANBU agents in an effort to learn more about each other's training methods and tactics, along with the ability to create greater and more efficient strategies while on joint operations.

Tenchi said nothing, merely staring at the stars.

"You...like killing, don't you?" She asked suddenly, almost rhetorically. He finally snorted in reply. "That's none of your business."

"_No need to be rude._" She mocked, and he shot her a glare. _At least I got a response out of him._

"Listen. I don't trust you, nor do I like you. You may be a comrade, but I'd prefer it if you didn't bother me with your small talk." He spat. She instantly returned his glare, and sensing the conversation was over, pushed herself over to her own spot. _I'll try again tommorow. _She thought. She was intrigued by her new teammate; he didn't seem so bad during their mission. Of course, he was horrifying when she had met him a year earlier, but she still wanted to get to know him. _Still, he doesn't have to be an asshole._

"Prick..." She muttered before falling asleep, and he smirked when he heard her. The smirk quickly fell as his drowsiness began to get to him, and he entered a dreamless slumber for the first time in a few weeks.

* * *

Tenchi's back was against the concrete wall of the cell block; the Oto-nin had captured a decommissioned prison when the war started, and had begun using it for their experiments and prisoners. After leaving the clearing they had rested in, they immediately went to the nearest Oto stronghold; one that happened to be recently abandoned.

Doshi nodded to his subordinate, and the demon-masked ANBU slid the door open, only to be hit by a blast of the most horrid smell he had ever had the displeasure of inhaling.

It was worse than the previous internment camps; it _reeked_ of blood, sex and other horrid things. Gripping his katana with one hand, and a flashlight with the other, he walked into the room, his teammates following him. Sakura had to bite the inside of her cheek to not yell out in disgust.

He scanned the area, looking for any survivors. A small moan to his left caught his attention, and he shone his light in that direction. His eyes widened when he saw four girls, chained up and gagged. _Those motherfucking animals.._ He thought in disgust.

Doshi found a light switch and flicked it on. The captive girls looked up in fright, and even when they saw masked ANBU looked at them, they still had fearful expressions.

"Hana, heal the one on the right...she looks the worst." He ordered, and the medic nodded before going to do her job.

Yamato stood guard at the door as Kakashi and Naruto approached the other girls. They all flinched when they approached.

"Hey, hey...easy. We're here to rescue you. Those men aren't going to hurt you anymore." The copy-nin said, his hands raised in a peaceful gesture. Two of the women relaxed, but one, a brunette, was still panicking, and began to shiver as Naruto approached her.

He cut the ropes she was bound by, causing her to fall onto her knees. She was shaking violently now, whimpering into her gag. He frowned._ What kind of sick fuck does this to a person?_

She tried to get away from him, but weeks of malnutrition whittled away her muscle mass. She had no strength. He knelt down next to her naked, prone form and pulled the gag out of her mouth. He immediately regretted the decision.

In an instant, she was screaming at the top of her lungs. The ANBU all jumped in shock. She screamed and screamed, not saying any words, just letting out all of her fears with her voice.

"Calm down!" Tenchi yelled, but she didn't relent. He made to grab her shoulder but she snapped a hand at his wrist. He growled in frustration as she continued to give away their position. They didn't know if there were still enemies lurking around.

He appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to stop her from her panic. She stopped yelling for a moment, before she began to struggle and scream again.

"Tenchi, calm her down! We don't know if there's more of them around!" Tenzo yelled as he handed the other women some spare clothes and water. Hana had begun to administer medical aid, but the screaming was beginning to get distracting.

"God damnit, stop screaming! We're trying to help you!" He yelled at her, but that only caused her to freak out more.

As everyone else looked at him in earnest, his mind began to get hazy. He wanted her to stop; every scream was a tear upon his soul. He didn't know how someone could be this messed up; this tortured and ruined. He wanted to kill whoever did this. But as her heartwrenching screams continued, a new desire flooded into his mind.

He wanted to end her suffering as much as he wanted to end his own; he didn't even notice when his hand slipped to his thigh and popped open his holster.

"Tenchi! Stop! Put the weapon down!" Doshi yelled in shock as a blade was pressed to the woman's throat. He didn't hear his captain; he couldn't. All that mattered was ending this poor soul's life.

The blade pressed harder, beginning to draw blood. His eyes glaze over, and he relished in whatever he was feeling at the moment.

Doshi had run over, and slapped the kunai from his hand before pulling the woman away. It snapped Tenchi out of his daze, and everything caught up with him.

He braced against the wall as he slid up, a shocked expression on his masked face. He had almost killed an innocent; a civilian. He crossed a line he never thought he would, and that scared him more than anything in his whole life. The girl had, however, stopped screaming, and was now whimpering in the corner.

He was slammed into the wall when he made to move forward, and could see the angry onyx eye that stared him down. Doshi's mind was reeling. Never, not once, had Tenchi tried something like that.

"What the _fuck_? You almost killed a civilian!" He hissed under his breath. Tenchi's eyes were wide.

"I..." Words failed him.

"Get out of here. We'll...talk about this later. Go take a walk or something. You need fresh air." He ordered sternly, and Tenchi nodded before rushing out of the room.

"Hana, go after him and make sure he doesn't get into any more shit. We can take care of the rest."

* * *

_Shit, shit, shit shit shit! _

Tenchi stormed out of the base in a panic. He felt sick; disgusting. He jogged straight for the river, but ended up buckling over and sliding his mask to the side of his face before he threw up violently.

"Guh.."

Saliva leaked out of his mouth as he strugged to regain his breathing. He shuffled over to the river, still on his hands and knees. He ignored the cold of the snow on his body, and shivered at something other than the temperature.

He stared at his reflection. He hadn't seen his appearance in months; his complexion was much paler than it was before he joined ANBU, due to the low exposure to sunlight. A dark, noticable cover of stubble was evident on his face, giving him a rugged, feral look.

His blue eyes were still dull and emotionless. Blinking a few times, he splashed some water on his face.

A branch snapped, and he instantly slid the mask back onto his face and whipped around, a kunai at the ready. He relaxed when he saw his new teammate walking over.

"Hey...are you alright?" Hana asked somewhat awkwardly. He nodded slightly, cringing at the bad taste in his mouth.

He was somewhat shocked that his teammate came out to see him. "Did Doshi-taichou send you?" He asked quietly, and sighed when she nodded. _They probably all think I'm fucking insane._

"What happened in there?" She asked, plopping down next to him without invitation and pulling her hood back, revealing her long, flowing crimson hair. It reminded him of his mother's, though the hue was much darker in color.

He unconsciously inhaled her scent, and the intriguing mix of vanilla, sweat and strawberrys invaded his nose. He relaxed slightly, and grunted in reply to her question. He didn't want to explain his inner thoughts.

Biting her lip, Hana made a decision. It was clear the demon-masked ANBU was disturbed by what had happened to himself; the bile she encountered on the way over had been evidence of that. His actions proved he wasn't some asshole ANBU that liked killing; civilians were obviously a line he didn't want to cross.

He needed comfort.

Taking the plunge, she scooted over and gripped his hand. His head shot up, and he stared at her mask. He could almost see her eyes, though he couldn't make out the color. It almost looked...green.

When he didn't do anything, and just stared at her, she sighed. "It's okay, you know. These...kinds of things happen," She started, even though she was slightly disturbed by what her teammate had almost done. "So don't...be upset with yourself."

Tenchi swallowed thickly when he felt his heart flutter slightly with an emotion, a feeling, he thought he would never feel again. The warmth of her gloved hand on his own, her soft, kind words, the wonderous aura this faceless woman eminated all lead to one thing.

Comfort.

* * *

After the incident with Tenchi, Squad 14 had opted to take a sector that had a low amount of internment camps. They were standing in the main street of a destroyed and ransacked village; bodies of innocent civilians laid everywhere, and blood literally flowed down the roads.

Tenchi was confused immensely by how _comforting _his new female teammate had been. His initial dislike towards her had all but vanished, and strangely enough, he felt drawn to her.

They finished checking all of the buildings for survivors; unfortunately, everyone was killed or missing.

Squad 14 immediately left the town, heading down a forest path to their next destination; a rumored stockpile of weaponry and drugs the enemy were using.

Tenchi came to a decision, and pulled out something from his pouch. No one noticed his actions, and he slowed down to match pace with the redhead.

He whistled in a low tone, catching her attention. He tossed her the object, and she deftly caught it with her left hand. A miniscule smile made it's way onto his face as she got a good look at what he handed her.

None other than the latest copy of Icha Icha Black Ops, courtesy of Ebisu and Iruka, the newest authors of the infamous novel series.

She blinked at it, a small blush of embarassment and anger appearing on her masked face. She looked up to see all three of her male teammates reading the same line of smut-filled literature.

"Welcome to Squad 14." Tenchi said, a small tone of amusement in his voice; something that didn't go unnoticed by his two superiors.

Muttering a small thanks, Hana stared at the book. _Ah, what the hell. _With that thought, she flipped to the first page.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it! Haha.

As always, click that shit down below and review. Oh, Hana means 'flower' by the way. D:


	13. Connection

A/N: Another chapter; the plot is picking up, and we got some development! :D

Thanks to FicsRLulz, once again, for looking over this bad boy.

And holy SHIT. Almost 60,000 hits. Honestly, you guys are amazing. Thanks to all of you for reviewing, following, favoriting; everything. The kind words you guys give me keep me going. 3 ALSO, 425+ REVIEWS? I LOVE YOU ALL. BIG HUGS FOR EVERYONE.

**ALSO: KEY THING. READ THIS SHIT. I have a poll up on my profile; for my next fic, I basically came down to two decisions. Perfectly Imperfect love will probably be around 10 more chapters, depending on how much development I'll need/I feel you guys would enjoy. Check that out and vote! It's either a full-on canon rewrite, where Naruto pretty much becomes his father's son, or a semi-canon rewrite, where Naruto is an anti-hero/villain. The latter is, of course, a darkfic. I love me some dark stories. :D**

Enjoy!

**Warning: Some dark scenes ahead, of course. Violence. Lots of it.**

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 13 - Connection**_

* * *

Tsunade sat at her office, a defined frown on her normally stoic face. She read the report over and over; it was far worse than she had ever imagined.

It had been almost three months since she assigned her apprentice to Squad 14. Just in the morning did she receive the document from Sakura.

She began to read over the report once more, a thousand things running through her mind as her eyes scanned through the eloquent writing of the once-pink haired girl.

* * *

_Subject's name: Codename 'Tenchi', real name unknown._

_Subject age: 21_

_Subject weight: 170 lb, 77.1 kg_

_Subject blood-type: B_

_Notable symptoms/traits: Severe sociopathic behavior, sadistic when in combat, ruthless, unfeeling_

_Other notes: Compared to when I first met him, he's become somewhat less harsh and apathetic. I'm not too sure what is causing this change, but I presume it's due to human contact beyond his male squadmates. He has yet to portray anything beyond the 'incident' during my first days in the squad; anything other than torture and elimination of Oto-nin is not in his mind._

_On that note; he appears to take great pleasure in killing them, as if it's 'righteous' or 'justified'. I do think, perhaps, he is in the right frame of mind, but occasionally it goes too far. For example, it's not as if he's just torturing them for information; though that's the reason he does it, it's as though it's not even important to him._

_What's important to him is inflicting serious psychological damage to his victim before he kills them. It's like he wants them to be consumed by misery. Whatever his back story is, something in this past has seriously affected his morals and humanity._

_A key thing to note, as I've stated before, he feels nothing. No regret, no remorse, no hatred, no disgust. Nothing. He just simply...kills and tortures._

_I'll keep you updated if anything significant happens**.**_

A sad sigh escaped from Tsunade's lips. "Brat...what's happened to you?" She muttered to herself as she pulled out a bottle of her finest alcohol. When she first got the mission reports of Naruto presenting certain violent traits, she was shocked, but had always put it under the excuse of his poor relationship with his teammates, particularly the one that's currently trying to heal his mind.

Perhaps that's the only reason, or maybe Oto changed him. Her stomach dropped at the thought of him never returning to Konoha as an at least somewhat happy person. The village was missing it's hero; it's warmth.

_Sakura...help him..._

* * *

Hana watched as her teammate beat the hell out of a masked Oto-nin. The shinobi made no noise as they were kicked repeatedly in the stomach, so Tenchi decided to switch tactics.

He pinned the nin to the tree, tying them to the bark tightly. He then tore off the Oto ANBU's mask, and was somewhat shocked to see a female face underneath the porcelain piece.

"You're a girl..." He muttered to himself.

"What's it to ya'?" She said in a thick, poor accent. Despite being in Oto's ANBU, it was clear she wasn't educated properly. She spat out a large amount of blood, and some of it leaked out of her mouth and down her chin.

"I didn't know they let women into Oto's forces." He stated, rumaging around in his pack for his tools. She scoffed and chuckled lightly.

"They don't. I had to fuck my way to the top, y'know. There's good money in ANBU work. Speaking of which...I'll make it worth your while if you untie me." She said, blowing a few strands of greasy blond hair out of her eyes before grinning. He cringed somewhat when he saw the yellow, decayed teeth inside of her mouth.

"No thanks." He remarked, before taking out a barbed kunai. It was still stained with blood, and looked rusty. When he saw her eying it increduously, he let out a snort.

"What, you think I'm going to use a good kunai to peel the skin from your flesh? Hardly." He said, before ripping the woman's shirt off. He paid no mind to the bare breasts that had flopped out, and knelt before pressing the blade to her stomach. She shivered at the cold that assaulted her bare form, but said nothing.

"Now, you're in Oto's ANBU. So, you're going to give us the information we want."

"Or what? Are you gonna rape n' kill me?" She sneered, a scowl on her face.

His teammates observed him cocking his head to the side in an almost innocent manner. "Rape you? What's with you and sex? No, I'm not going to rape you. Killing you, on the other hand...well..." He mused, removing the blade from her skin to tap the 'chin' of his mask thoughtfully.

Hana had 'gotten used' to Tenchi's ways. Sort of. It was still extremely disturbing to see how many ways he could make a person scream, and how he could extract information from even the toughest of enemies. She was also pertubed at how bipolar he could be with her. One minute, he could be talking to her fine, the next he would seclude himself and snap at her.

Right now, she was borderline disgusted with him, but she said nothing.

"So, let's get started!" Tenchi exclaimed cheerfully, pressing the blade back onto the woman's abdomen. She visibly tensed, and her hazel eyes stared at him in horror. She realized this man was not one to be trifled with.

"Wait! Please, I'll tell you what ya' want, you crazy fuckin' bastard!" She yelled when the kunai began to cut into the flesh. He stopped, and motioned for Hana to bring the map over.

"Thanks for the compliment. Tell us where you guys are getting that tech." He questioned, lazily twirling the weapon in his hand. The woman gulped, and nodded.

"We're getting it supplied from a factory in the North East sector you have marked. It's around quadrant four. It's heavily guarded."

"How is it being supplied?"

"We...captured blueprints from the ruins of the Land of Sky years ago. Orochimaru-sama had attempted to harness the technology's power, but he eventually lost interest. He was a very old-fashioned man." She remarked, a gleam appearing in her eyes at the thought of the snake-sannin. They all looked at her like she was crazy, but said nothing.

"Thank you."

"Are ya' gonna let me go?"

A kunai to her temple was the answer she received. Blood leaked down his fingers, but he quickly wiped it off onto his cloak. Tenchi left the blade embedded in the now-deceased Oto-nin's head, and quickly burned her body instantly with a combustion seal.

A shudder ran down all of their spines, save for Tenchi. They would never get used to his ruthless ways.

"We'll rest up for the rest of today. I have a feeling we'll need some back up, so I'll send a hawk out and see if we can get another team to help us out. It'll probably be a week before we go for that factory."

* * *

Hana and Tenchi were sitting on a couple of tree branches, lazily sprawled on the wood as they read their novels. Hana would never admit it out loud, but she had grown quite fond of the perverted literature. After finishing the newest copy, she had borrowed the previous series from her teammates; the ones written by Jiraiya. Needless to say, the late Toad Sannin was much more fond of the smut portions of the books.

Their two superiors were elsewhere, doing recon and gathering supplies.

The demon-masked ANBU was barely reading his book; instead, his thoughts were on his female teammate.

He still had trouble dealing with the idea of a new squadmate, but Hana had been anything but an outsider. She immediately fit in with everyone else; it was clear she had her own emotional burdens she had to deal with.

He couldn't explain why he felt so much at ease around her. Sometimes she got a little pushy when it came to communicating with him, and often tried to pry some personal information from him, but most of the time, he felt almost...carefree when he was with her.

Tenchi glanced at her, and he remembered what he was going to do; he figured he might as well just do it then. _Christmas is a few days away...oh well._ "Hana, where's your sword?"

She snapped her book shut, and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Ah. I don't have one."

"Why?"

"During my training, I felt my taijutsu would be adequate enough. So I never learned kenjutsu."

His brows furrowed. She was right; her hand-to-hand combat skills were excellent, especially given her chakra-enhanced attacks. But going against a full Curse-seal Oto-nin in taijutsu only could get dangerous. Only lethal blows to the neck or head will kill them quickly; otherwise, they just keep coming at you without stopping unless their limbs are blown off or they die from blood loss. Tenchi could have sworn that one man kept going, even after his heart was impaled by a sword.

He leaped down from the branch, landing in the snowy clearing. He beckoned for her to join him, and although she was confused, she complied.

He pulled out a scroll, and handed it to her. She blinked a few times, and looked at him for some kind of explanation.

"Well, go ahead and unseal it." He said. She lifted a thumb under her mask, and bit into the pad of it, drawing blood. She swiped the fluid across the seal on the scroll, and jumped a little in shock when a plume of smoke erupted and a long, weighted object landed in her arms.

The fog vanished, and her eyes widened when she saw a beautiful red-colored sword that was in an equally red sheath. She pulled the blade out, and was shocked to see it was made of the same black material Tenchi's was crafted out of.

"I..." She started, and he smiled slightly under his mask.

"Consider it a thank-you for helping me after...well...the incident a few months ago, when you first joined the team." He said. She nodded happily, and understood the gesture, even though his voice had no tone of appreciation in it.

"Erm. Thanks." She said softly, running her hand along the metal of the sword. It was incredibly smooth to the touch.

"You'll need it. We haven't encountered curse-seal nin in a long time, but whenever we do confront them...it gets messy." He stated darkly, unconsciously rubbing his thumb; it was the first part of his body to shed the blood of an Oto-nin, when he crushed the man's eye with no remorse or regret. It seemed like such a far away time since he first became an ANBU. Hana's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"But like I said, I don't know kenjutsu." She said, pouting even though he couldn't see it. He smirked lightly. "I'll teach you." He said, taking his own sword out. Hana had attached her sheath to her hip, and was getting a feel for her own weapon.

She glanced over, and for once, got a good look at her teammate's blade. She cocked a brow upwards when she saw a large number of tally markings along the lower end of the katana.

"Tenchi, what's with the markings?"

"Those...are all of the people I've ever killed." He said, a slight dark undertone in his voice, as if he were reminiscing. She blanched, and immediately regretted asking her next question.

"How many..?"

"Three hundred and seventy-two."

The conversation ended at that.

* * *

They trained for a few hours; Doshi and Tenzo returned, but after making some food for the team, they went back to planning on the other side of the clearing, leaving Tenchi and Hana to their own devices.

The demon-masked ANBU sighed, wiping some sweat from his neck as he stared at his equally exhausted 'student'. "You're form is awkward and barbaric, Hana." He stated, twirling his sword with his wrist.

She huffed angrily. "Well it's not my fault! You're a terrible teacher!" He sheathed his blade, and thought for a moment. He quickly came up with a solution to their problem.

In a flash, he appeared behind her. She tensed when she felt his breath on her neck, and when his body pressed against hers. His hands wrapped around her own, which were gripping her sword loosely. Their grips tightened.

"Like this." He said, almost in a whisper as he led her through proper sword techniques.

He was surprised, shocked even, to find himself enjoying the extremely abutting proximity.

"Fluid, languid movements." He stated absently, and she nodded.

* * *

"He seems to have grown comfortable with her..." A dog-masked ANBU remarked to his cat-masked comrade.

Tenzo nodded. "Is Hana who I think she is?"

"Yeah...this could end up badly." Doshi said grimly. Tenzo was slightly shocked that the Fifth's apprentice was now an ANBU, let alone on her old team, albeit unknowingly. He could see how terribly this could end up being if Tenchi caught wind of who exactly his female teammate was.

* * *

Tenchi was curled up in his sleeping back, tossing and turning restlessly as he tried to get a decent night's sleep. After spending the rest of the day training with Hana, he had instantly went to bed to see if he could get some sort of rest.

Hana had made good progress in her first day; she could probably take on low-grade thugs or, at most, a chuunin-level shinobi in a sword fight. Though he would never admit it, he actually had...fun. It was a foreign concept to him, now. Something about being with Hana, and just her aura, calmed him. Soothed him.

Tenchi eventually fell asleep to thoughts of how...comforting being near his wolf-masked teammate was.

* * *

_**His blue eyes opened wearily, confusion setting in when he noticed he wasn't anywhere near where he fell asleep.**_

_**He noticed he was almost completely naked, save for a pair of loose-fitting pants that hung low on his hips. He was bound to a cold, metal table, and he saw that he was in a very dark and murky dungeon.**_

_**"Hello?"**_

_**Panic began to set in, and he struggled against the metal binding that held him down.**_

_**"It's useless to struggle, Naruto-kun." A sickly, male voice echoed throughout the room. He shot his head in the direction of the voice.**_

_**Suddenly, the room was filled with a dull, yellow light, eluminating the entire area. He finally got a good look, and just about screamed in horror at what he saw.**_

_**Heads. The heads of every single friend in comrade he had come to know in his years as a shinobi, piled on top of limbs and body parts.**_

_**They were alive.**_

_**"You couldn't save me, dobe...you brought me back to that hellhole just to get killed." Sasuke's voice said, giving the blonde a stern glare.**_

_**"Why couldn't you save my Sasuke-kun, Naruto? I thought you loved me, and would do anything for me? That's why I used you, you know..." Sakura's head sneered, staring at him with disgust.**_

_**"You're pathetic, gaki. I'm ashamed of you. You were supposed to carry on my legacy and bring peace; look at you. You're nothing but a warmongering killer." The toad-sannin grumbled, not even looking him in the eye.**_

_**"Son...what kind of horrific beast are you? A demon is what you are...fitting, considering what lays inside of you and what you use to cover up your true self." Minato, the Fourth Hokage, said, disappointment and distaste evident in his voice.**_

_**"See what you've done? Perhaps we'll see how you act once I'm finished...playing with you." The sick voice said, and his eyes widened when he saw a curse-sealed Oto-nin step towards him with a bloody, bent razor.**_

* * *

Hana awoke to muffled screaming and whimpering. She lazily crawled out of her tent, and winced at the cold, night air that assaulted her. Shivering slightly, she stumbled over to the source of the noise; Tenchi's tent.

She unzipped the cover slowly, and peered inside; she saw him, curled up in a ball within his sleeping bag, shivering not from the cold but whatever horrors were assaulting his mind.

Her face automatically fell into a frown. She had heard his nightmares before, but never had she seen him during one. Going inside of the tent, she shuffled over to where his prone form was.

The redhead ran through a few handseals, and gently placed a palm on top of his head, under the cloak. She was surprised to feel incredibly soft, luscious hair on top of his scalp, but put that thought away as she carefully and calmly began to put her chakra into his brain to stimulate his nerves.

* * *

**_The blade that was about to pierce into his skin didn't cut his flesh; no, it felt like a like gentle caress upon his cheek._**

**_He opened his eyes, and the dark dungeon filled with the heads and body parts of his old comrades and friends had vanished. Instead, he was standing in the middle of a lush meadow. The sky was bright blue, almost heavenly, and the sun cast a wonderous glow upon the area._**

**_He looked down and saw a feminine hand rubbing his cheek soothingly. He followed the smooth, contoured skin of the arm, and locked gazes with the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen._**

**_"Naruto-kun..." An angel like voice said, almost in a whisper. He drank in the image of her; creamy, pale skin, soft looking pink hair that swayed in the breeze._**

**_"Sakura-chan..." He replied back, tears falling from his eyes due to the sheer beauty of the situation._**

**_Both of her hands were lightly holding his cheeks, her eyes filled with the things he had once desired most; love, affection, trust, devotion. She whispered sweet nothings to him, cooing to him and adoring him._**

**_It was too much._**

* * *

He woke up with a start, his hand gripping something tighly. He struggled to regain his breath, the strange turn of his nightmare disturbing him greatly.

He looked around, and was stunned to see his female teammate crouched over his prone form. A soft whimper alerted him, and he noticed he was almost crushing her wrist. He let go, and stared at her.

"I'm sorry.." She whispered. She wasn't expecting him to react so...extremely.

"You...you did that?" He asked, his voice low and demanding. He saw her nod her head slightly, and he grumbled.

"Don't..._ever _do that again." He panted out, his voice filled with anger.

"Why..?"

"Whatever...you did was far worse than what I was experiencing before." He breathed, finally calming his nerves.

Her mouth opened in shock. Never before had this happened.

The genjutsu she cast on him was designed to alter a person's dreams so that their sleep would be more than just restless nightmares. It takes what the subject's subconscious would view as perfection, and cause them to dream of that and only that.

His hands were shaking, and she could see little drops of liquid falling from underneath his mask. She made to comfort him, be he snapped her hand away and stood up. He dusted his cloak off, spared her a small passing glance, and exited the tent.

Never before had she seen him like this. He had nightmares before, sure, but she'd never seen him _cry_.

What disturbed her most was that she could have sworn he said _her _name.

* * *

Things were incredibly tense since that night.

Tenchi had grown incredibly secluded, and rarely spoke anymore. Not even Doshi could get through to him.

It had been a week since finding out the location of where the Oto-nin were manufacturing their high-tech gear, and the Hokage authorized a full-scale assault on the factory. Squad 14 had linked up with a few other teams from Suna; the Konoha squads, being the major fighting force in the war, could only afford to supply one team for the mission. Icha Icha.

Doshi shook hands with the Suna commander, who led a small platoon of 10 men and women. The silver-haired captain could tell that these were fresh recruits; their posture and conversing with one another was a dead give away that they were rookies.

"We're going to be attacking during their supply cycle; we'll be able to, in a way, take out two birds with one stone. A team of Oto spec-ops will be there to pick up the new gear. Our job is to take that team down as quietly as we can, then move in and eliminate anybody inside. Rules of engagement...kill anyone you can find. No one is to be left alive, unless we can find the one who is in control of this factory." Doshi said, earning a few murmurs of agreement.

"We leave now. Be quick, be fast and be silent. We don't need a full batallion of Oto forces on our case. Let's go."

* * *

"'Ey, Ryu, how'd it go at the camp last night?" An extremely thin man asked. His greasy, black hair was tied up in a messy pony-tail, and he lifted a few crates of equipment and weaponry over to one of the Oto spec ops teams who were waiting for their gear.

Ryu puffed on a cigarrette, a sick grin twisting on his face. "I had a good time." He said, his voice sinful and menacing. His partner chuckled, and nodded to the spec ops who proceeded to exit the building, leaving the duo by themselves, along with a large amount of guards and other workers.

"Any new toys there?"

"A few; there's a _blue _haired one, and let me tell 'ya, the carpet matches the drapes. Not even joking with you, Jin. Fuckin' all natural." The man remarked, ashing his smoke before in inhaling again.

"Hahah, nice man, nice. I got a shift there in a few weeks; I'll give 'er a go. Y'know people with weird hair colors are like tigers when they fuck. Here, have a drink. It's break in a few minutes." He said, pulling out a large bottle of sake. His friend grinned, and the two sat at a table, each taking swigs of the alcohol.

Ryu's partner chuckled when the man finished telling a dirty story about one of his many escapades, and went over to the makeshift cooler they had filled with snow from outside. As he made to grab a sandwich, he didn't see the shadows stalking from the rafters above him.

"'Ey, Ryu, you want to ditch for a few hours and hit up one of the local villages that we've taken control of? There's probably some fine ass over there." He asked, still bent over and unwrapping his food.

When he got no response, he raised a brow. "Ryu?"

All he heard was a sharp whizzing sound, followed by a dull thunk and the sound of glass shattering. The Oto-nin snapped his head around to see something the scared him beyond all belief.

Ryu still sat at the table, but a large, incredibly sharp kunai had flown straight through the back of his neck, and stopped about half way through his windpipe. The tip had burst through the front of his neck, and had impaled the bottle of sake they were sharing.

The man sat there for a moment, shock not even being expressed on his face, before he slumped over and hit the table with a dull thud. It was then Jin saw more than a dozen ANBU rush into the factory, killing and maiming everyone they could get to.

* * *

Tenchi rushed towards the man who was talking with the 'Ryu' guy he just killed. He smirked evilly under his mask, and in a move of pure malice, he grabbed the distracted pony-tailed man, and exerting a bit of his chakra, threw him into the smelting furnace that he was standing near.

Jin's screams were the most horrifying thing the ANBU agents, and the still remaining Oto-nin, had ever heard. A few of the rookie Suna soldiers had to walk away to vomit when the smell of burning flesh assaulted their senses.

The demon-masked shinobi didn't even bat an eyelash when the man's tortured screams as his flesh was melted from his bones grew louder. He casually walked away from the furnace, and enjoyed the view of his ANBU comrades taking down their enemies. Hana had gotten used to her sword, and was in a fierce battle with a rival Oto swordsman.

He felt his mind get slightly blurry ass the combat erupted around him. The screams of pain and war were muffled and silenced. All he could focus on was his own breathing.

His eyes widened considerably when a dark shadow moved towards him out of a corridor. He could have sworn his heart stopped when an eerily familiar head of raven locks appeared, followed by pale skin and an impassive face.

"Dobe."

Tenchi blinked rapidly. _It's not real, it's not real, it's not real..._He repeated in his head. The image of his old, long-lost friend remained, unwavering and impossibly _there_.

Desperately, he gripped his sword and charged Sasuke, a scream emitting from his throat as he impaled him. Blood spurted out of the wound, and Tenchi squeezed his eyes shut, begging for whatever force that was doing this dissappeared.

He slowly opened his eyes, and instead of a limp form of Sasuke on his sword, it was a simple worker for Oto. _That's right...he's already dead..it wasn't him._

He didn't know why whatever just happened, happened, or why it was affecting him so much. He was supposed to be beyond Sasuke's death and his team.

Tenchi kicked the body off of his sword, and had to kneel for a few moments as his comrades finished off the rest of the Oto forces.

"Hey! I think the commander is here!" A Suna-nin called out, dragging a man behind him with the help of one of his teammates.

Sure enough, the Oto-nin was dressed in a sort of regal uniform of a man in power. His head was bloody, and he wavered slightly, but he was conscious nonetheless.

Tenchi reluctantly walked over, and he forced himself to squat next to the man. The Suna-nin looked away, already being informed of what the demon-masked ANBU's job was.

He couldn't think clearly. The shock of whatever he just saw scared him dearly. He reached for a kunai, and as he pulled it out, Doshi's eye widened when he saw his hand shake uncontrollably. Tenchi's movements froze for a moment, and Doshi took the opportunity to lay a hand on his subordinates shoulder.

"I'll do it. Go take a break."

Nodding, Tenchi handed the silver-haired man the kunai, and promptly stalked out of the building, his mind reeling.

* * *

Hana was having an impossible time trying to sleep. After interrogating the Oto commander, they got a list of similar factories that were being constructed in places all over the Land of Sound.

She could hear Tenchi's horror-filled noises a few meters away from her, in his own tent. She longed to go over there and cast her jutsu on him again, or perhaps wake him up, but she would never try it again. His reaction to the dream-altering technique was anything but beneficial.

A particularly loud scream, muffled by the tent and the snow, caused her to shoot up, determination filling her mind. She exited her tent, and quickly went into his to see him tossing and turning violently.

_He's going to hurt himself if he keeps this up..._ She thought for a moment, then made her move. She would make sure Tenchi didn't deal with this alone. No one had to deal with whatever was making a fully trained, emotionless ANBU so...vulnerable.

She couldn't think of anything else that would be able to ease his suffering.

And with that, she pulled off her cloak, zipped up Tenchi's tent, and held the man still long enough to slip into his sleeping bag, crush his back to her chest and wrap her arms around his abdomen tightly.

He continued to thrash for a few minutes, but eventually, the warmth of his teammates body affected his subconscious, and his slumber gradually became peaceful and tranquil.

* * *

Tenchi's darkened blue eyes opened slowly as consciousness began to flood into his system. The night terrors were starting to get to him badly.

He felt incredibly warm, and felt a weight being pressed against his back. Glancing down, he noticed a pair of slender arms wrapped around his abdomen.

Whipping around, he was shocked and confused to see his female teammate...in his tent, sharing his sleeping bag with him. His fast action caused her to stir, and with the day light seeping into the tent, he saw a pair of amazing emerald-colored eyes open tiredly through the holes in her mask.

He heard her smack her lips. "'Er...morning."

"...What are you doing in here?" He asked, his voice filled with confusion and discomfort.

She slid out of the sleeping bag, and went to go grab her cloak that rested lightly on the tarp that covered the ground. He couldn't help but stare at her ass as she bent down to retrieve the robe. Unlike his shinobi pants, hers were extremely tight-fitting for easy maneuverability. He felt no shame as he took in the sight of her every curve, of her insanely well-built body.

"Your nightmares. Whatever they are, when you're sleeping, it sounds like your being tortured endlessly. Since you didn't want me to use the genjutsu to change your dreams, for whatever reason, I figured some human comfort would do you good. And it did." She admitted as she wrapped her cloak around her.

He blinked a few times, realization dawning on him. He felt a jolt in his chest; a warmth flooded through his veins, and his heart rate picked up. _What...the fuck?_

It couldn't be helped. It had been long...far too long since he had actually had that kind of contact with someone. The vague memory of sleeping with Yugao was all but a blur, now. But...this was different.

"Now.." She started, sitting down in front of him. Shadowy cobalt met with darkened green for second time, and Hana exhaled slightly.

"Do you want to tell me why, exactly, I can't use my jutsu on you?"

"Why does it even matter to you?"

"I'm a medical specialist. It's my job to make sure every member of the team is in top condition. That...means mentally as well." She stated, hoping she didn't reveal too much. Her nerves calmed when Tenchi didn't push the subject.

"It's nothing important...it's just...whatever kind of genjutsu you used on my brought back some memories I'd rather forget."

"Memories?"

He sighed. "Just forget about it." He said, making to stand up, but she grabbed his hamd. He froze at the contact, and snapped his head back.

"...Tenchi, come on. You can trust me."

"It's just...you made me remember the one person I've tried to forget my whole life. Bittersweet doesn't even do it justice."

She finally understood. "Who was it...? Friend...family...lover?"

"For the life of me...I could never figure out what I was to her. Was I just a tool? A teammate? A comrade? A friend? I never knew."

Her mouth opened in shock. Something was...intensely familiar about Tenchi right now. She couldn't even stop herself from asking.

"What was her name?"

"Her name...?" He asked himself rehetorically. He hadn't thought of her for years, let alone speak her name. The altered dream, the hallucination of his once-best-friend...he didn't know what to do with himself anymore. _Perhaps...Hana can help..._

"Her name... was S-"

The tent unzipped, and a dog-masked head popped inside quickly. "We gotta move."

They nodded to him, and Doshi left. As the tent zipped back up, he breathed out a sigh of relief. _That was close...if he said her name, this all would have gone to hell._

* * *

A/N: YEEEEAHHHHHHHHH. I'll try to crank out another chapter before my winter break is over; maybe I'll get two out.

Next Chapter: Suspicions


	14. Suspicions

A/N: A shortish chapter; mostly filler and development. I'm trying to build up the tension/feelings between Hana and Tenchi, so that's mostly why this chapter is a thing. Sorry if it's short/boring; it's mainly just inner thoughts and exactly what the chapter title implies :p

I really, _really _don't like the way this one came out, but I wanted to lay off the violence for a chapter or two. I felt like it was getting stale, and I want it to be fresh and exciting for...well, nevermind. ;)

Enjoy! (I hope :L. My mediocre writing is back for you all to read.)

**Also, if you didn't last time, check out the poll in my profile for my next fic! It's a close race. I had 56 votes in, so...yeah.**

* * *

_**P**__**erfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 14 - Suspicions**_

* * *

Tenchi was lying in his tent, trying to control his trembling form desperately. His hands wouldn't stop shaking, and his eyes were closed tightly.

His hallucination of his dead teammate was slowly eating away at him, along with the altered dream of the woman who once held his heart.

What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn't tell. He had thought, no, he _knew _he had purged himself of any feeling or connection with the his two squadmates of team 7. So why was it bothering him? Why couldn't he get their faces out of his head? And most of all...

Why was he feeling...anything?

It had been ages since he last felt any sort of strong emotion. Of course, he still _felt_. Fear, loss, anger, humor; he could still go through these emotions. But it never affected him. And they were always dark...hollow. As if they were trying to fill an empty shell of existence.

Perhaps, deep down, subconsciously where he could never reach, he still held a flicker of attachment to Team 7. Not anything remotely close to what once was, but the basis of what he felt back then still remained. The joy, the laughter, the pain, the suffering. All of it was still _there_. A memory; something he can still recall, but it's a blur.

Sasuke and Sakura. The two people he once dedicated his life to. One, he put everything on the line just to bring him home. The other, he devoted his every thought and action towards making her happy.

The thought of the Uchiha left a bad taste in his mouth. To this day, it still disturbed him how _little _he cared about Sasuke's death. Even after years of training and working, just to get him back, he didn't care that he had been killed.

But, then again, the hallucination he had would differ. It wasn't brought on by a genjutsu or a poison; he merely saw Sasuke, back from the grave, and killed him. He wouldn't bring it up to Hana or his superiors, though. It was a one-time thing.

Why would he hallucinate him, then? And why would it affect him so much?

He supposed it was a foreign concept for Sasuke to be _dead_. All his life, Sasuke had been alive, and had meant something to him; a friend, a rival to surpass, a brother. That all seemed so...strange now.

For one reason or another, his thoughts drifted to Hana. When he woke up with her body wrapped around his a week earlier, his abdomen fluttered with...something he couldn't describe. It was far from negative, but he didn't like the emotion that ran through his whole being when she had comforted him. It made him uneasy and on edge; moreso than he had ever been in Oto.

Whenever that happened, he was so confused and conflicted with all everything that was going through his mind, he almost spilled the beans, per se, and told Hana about _her_.

A wistful sigh escaped his lips. It was hard to get out of his head now. No matter what he did, the pink-haired girl he once loved would forever be burned into his memory. Before, she was nothing but that; a faint echo in the distance. But now, Hana's genjutsu brought her back into reality.

It no longer filled him with a sickening, gut wrenching feeling whenever he thought of her; that hadn't happened for years. Instead, it was almost...bittersweet. Too bittersweet.

The dream he had of her brought back everything he had once felt before his time in ANBU. Love, anger, jealousy, fun, joy, happiness; a whirlwind of emotions. It was all a wound upon his mind that had caused him to join the black ops in the first place and now; he didn't even know what they were. He couldn't even remember what it felt like to be in love, or to genuinely laugh, or to feel suffering. He merely...existed. Nothing more, nothing less.

Of course, he was beyond all that. His love had turned to hatred, then to scorn, then to dislike, then to distaste and now nothing. He didn't particularly care about Sakura, or anyone in Konoha, in any sort of major regard. But the dream he had...it was too innocent. Too beautiful, too peaceful and too _happy_. Things like that didn't exist in the world. They couldn't. Not now, and not ever. His childish days of inhaling ramen, training with Team 7 and asking Sakura for dates were long gone. Never again would he experience...what it felt like to be _free_.

And then there was Hana. Whatever god gifted his team with her, he was eternally thankful. And he didn't even know why.

He could tell she was good-looking, even with the mask and body armor. Her body could only be compared to that of a goddess. He had a hard time finding fault in her figure; everything was just..._firm_. Her shoulder-blade-length maroon hair looked incredibly soft, and it flowed down her upper-back like a waterfall. Her movements were graceful and fluid, like a dancer, and when he saw her in battle, he could sometimes get distracted with her.

The ANBU felt almost creepy for thinking of her the way he was, but it was harmless. He'd spent almost three years without the touch of a woman, let alone the kind words and just general _presence _of one.

But it just only added to the confusion. For all his time in ANBU, save for his small fling with Yugao, any sexual or romantic desire he could have ever felt just...didn't register in his mind. Sure, he chalked it up to his training and his rendering of his emotions, but some of the things had encountered should have had _some _sort of effect on him.

Then what was it that drew him to Hana? Was it how she didn't walk on eggshells around him like his two superiors did? Was it that, even when he shut her out from contact, she had gone out of her way to comfort him for something that was entirely his fault? Or was it just natural attraction?

That could make sense. Maybe there was no particular reason he could feel so at ease, so safe, so warm, so almost...content around the redhead. Perhaps it was just the way things were, and nothing made it happen.

He reached a hand up to lightly scratch the top of his head, his fingertips grazing the soft blonde locks that lay above. Nowadays, he often though of just _who _she could be.

Her crimson hair looked way too deep and toned to be dyed, and last he checked, there weren't any redheads in Konoha that were his age. And the idea of any girls in his generation joining the ANBU was almost ludicrous. Hinata was _way _too kind and loving to be able to live in situations like this. Ino was a social butterfly, and probably wouldn't be able to deal with what _truly _happened in the life of an ANBU.

Tenten...he stopped. Was Hana, Tenten? He couldn't see it. Tenten was more goofy and tomboyish compared to the aggressiveness of his female teammate.

Sakura...he didn't even want to go there. As far as he knew, Sasuke and her had a kid before he died. He didn't ask his superiors for news of Konoha, and didn't want news of Konoha.

_It certainly would make sense, though. _He mused, a frown appearing on his face. Hana's intense personality, her little quirks and quips when she conversed with him, her super strength and unreal medical abilities...

But then again...why would Sakura, of all people, join the ANBU? The thought was disgusting to Tenchi, and he couldn't figure out why it made him feel like that. When they were still friends, the pinkette often spoke of how she adored working in the hospital, and how she wouldn't give it up for anything. And like him...she never went back on her word.

Who else was there? Who else could Hana be?

He froze.

Medical-ninja. Red hair. Fiery attitude. Flamboyant personality. Snarky, sarcastic, funny, easy-going...

_No fucking way. _His mind was now filled with the image of a girl he had a few deep conversations with; a girl who once was Orochimaru's subordinate. A girl who was once Sasuke's teammate in his own squad that he had formed.

A feisty red-headed girl who, if the Uchiha's words from years ago were correct, was an Uzumaki.

Karin.

"Ho-ly _shit_." He muttered. Of course, he wasn't completely, one-hundred percent sure, but all roads pointed to her. It made sense; every thing. Especially the idea of natural attraction.

Years ago, when he had his falling out with Sakura, Tsunade had allowed Karin to become a Konoha shinobi, in exchange for everything she knew about Orochimaru's plans, experiments and ideas, along with her undying loyalty to the village.

One night, when the he and Sasuke were on good terms, they were hanging out in the blonde's apartment, discussing girls, of all things. They steered clear of the Sakura topic, of course.

Naruto had brought up the female from Team Taka with Sasuke, whose face wrinkled up in sadness, regret and remorse; something the Kyuubi jinchuuriki had never seen before.

He explained, then, who Karin was; an Uzumaki whose family had sought refuge in Kusa after her clan's village was decimated during one of the great shinobi wars.

To say Naruto was shocked would be an understatement. He actually had some living family left in the world, although they were distantly, _distantly _related; barely by blood, only by name.

Karin had originally been captured by Konoha for interrogation; she _was _part of the Akatsuki organization, so they knew she had some information. During the climax of the Fourth Shinobi World War, she had escaped from Konoha's prison and eventually reunited with Team Taka and Orochimaru, who were shocked to see her.

After actually getting slapped in the face by her, Sasuke allowed Karin to continue on with them, though it appeared that his sacrifice of her to kill Danzo had severely affected her feelings towards him.

When Naruto and the Shinobi Alliance defeated the Jubi, along with Madara and Obito, Team 7 was sent on a mission to intercept Sasuke's team. It ended in the final battle of the war; Team 7 vs Team Taka.

Naruto, of course, faced Sasuke; Juugo and Suigetsu went against Sakura and Sai, while Orochimaru had faced off against Kakashi. Karin reluctantly had sat on the sidelines, not showing any allegiance to either side.

After Juugo, Suigetsu and Orochimaru were defeated, the latter being killed once and for all, Karin and Sasuke were taken back to Konoha. Sasuke had his trials, and Karin had hers. The Uzumaki had gotten a pardon, due to the fact that she had valuable information on Orochimaru's experiments and outposts, and that she hadn't actually attacked any Konoha-nin.

When Karin showcased proficient chakra sensing and medical abilities, Tsunade had allowed her to train in Konoha's medical corps under the tutelage of both herself and Shizune. By the end of it, she was on par with Shizune's skills and combat ability.

Soon after his talk with Sasuke, Naruto had met her, and like clockwork, they instantly bonded. She reminded him so much of his mother, it was almost staggering. But, she also reminded him of Sakura.

The two had gotten along extremely well in the few times they had the time to talk. Karin told him about her family, and the few things she knew about the Uzumaki clan. Based on the stories she told, apparently the trait of being obnoxious and loud-mouthed was a trait of the clan.

She had a habit of giving him smart-ass remarks, to which he would retort with his own snarky comments. Every time they met up, sparks would fly, but nothing ever really come from it.

At times, Naruto had wished that he had met Karin earlier; perhaps he could have saved himself the heartbreak if he fell in love with her and not his pink-haired teammate.

Nonetheless, the resemblance between Karin and Hana was uncanny, from appearance to personality.

The sound of his tent zipping down cut him off from his thoughts. He glanced up, and saw his female teammate step into his tent. "Uh. Can I help you?"

It seemed it was already nighttime, and he observed her laying down her cloak, before shuffling over to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" The tone of her voice caused him to wonder about her concern; it was sarcastic, as usual.

"No." He replied gruffly as her aroma flooded into the tent.

"Well, I've decided that I'm done with _not_ sleeping during the night because of your...erm...nightmares." She replied quickly. He could sense the awkwardness in her voice, and could tell what she wanted. It seemed it was easy to fall asleep with someone who was already unconscious.

So, he pulled back the sleeping back to allow her some room, and she slipped in comfortably. She instinctually pushed him over to wrap her arms around his chest. _Probably because I thrash around in my sleep..._

As the drowsiness began to settle in, his eyes closed by themselves, and he fell asleep to thoughts of the woman who was holding on to him.

* * *

Sleeping together had then become a regular thing. Tenchi's nightmares had ceased, and both of them were sleeping far better than they had in a while. Of course, Hana viewed it as completely platonic, but she didn't know how Tenchi was taking it. Knowing him, though, he probably thought the same.

It had been a week since they started sharing a tent, but neither Doshi nor Tenzo questioned it. It had been a relatively slow week, as well; they hadn't encountered many Oto shinobi. Their sector had been cleared of internment camps and outposts months ago.

Hana was wrapped up in Tenchi's warm, comfortable sleeping bag -_and amazing body, her inner self chipped in_-, but she couldn't sleep just yet.

Brushing a strand of her hair out from under her mask, she frowned. Ever since they got closer, both in a physical and emotional sense, her nosy and curious mind had begun to wonder just who, exactly, Tenchi was.

Out of respect to his privacy, she hadn't questioned him on any personal matters. She would let him open up as he felt comfortable with.

All she had learned that he was, indeed, from Konoha, and not transferred. She also learned that he was 'around her age', or so he said.

One of the few things she did know about him, was that he had some sort of relationship with a girl, and that something must have happened to cause them to have a falling out.

So here she was, lying wrapped up in a cocoon of warmth, her mind racing through possibilities. She couldn't help it.

She went through the guys in her age group. Lee was the farthest person Tenchi could ever be. While Lee was happy, eccentric, loud, caring and extremely affectionate, Tenchi was dark, apathetic, violent, sarcastic and a fan of black comedy.

Shikamaru couldn't be him; no matter what anyone said, the genius of Team Ten was the laziest, most irresponsible person she had ever come to know. Not to mention she had never heard Tenchi mutter a single 'troublesome', something she had begun to theorize was a bloodline limit of the Nara clan, if any of the other members she had met were an example.

Chouji was too kind-hearted and pacifistic to be and ANBU ninja. He despised any sort of war or violence, as did most of the Akamichi clan.

Shino...she stopped. _Could it be?_

She shook her head. It couldn't be Shino. She hadn't seen Tenchi use any insects. Even though the Aburame was incredibly antisocial, she couldn't see him being as secluded and dark as Tenchi was.

And it definitely wasn't Kiba. Akamaru was nowhere to be found, not to mention how _loud _he could be. Who else was left?

A shock of golden blonde hair, bright cerulean eyes and whiskered cheeks invaded her vision, and she felt as though her lungs had collapsed.

_Is he...Naruto?_

The thought was extremely disturbing. After Sasuke's demise, and the realization of her feelings, her love for Naruto had only grown in the wake of his absense. She longed, _needed_, to see his smile again, hear his laugh, and just _be _with him. One would say being close to a teammate she barely new, like this, would be haughty and borderline 'slut-like behavior', as Ino would have called it, she knew where her loyalties lie. If she were to ever regain her old teammate's trust again, she would _never _break it. She would rather die than cause him pain again, especially now that she knew how exactly she messed up.

The idea that the man she had her arms wrapped around could be him scared her. Tenchi was the antithesis of what Naruto was. He wasn't happy, cheerful, fun to be around, and he _didn't _make her smile the way Naruto once could.

_But...it could be him._ She would never forget the first time she met Tenchi, and the blood-red eyes that seemed to glow out of the eye holes that adorned his demon-esque mask. Of course, the logical part of her mind summed it up to blood on her own eyes, or the adrenaline coursing through her veins, but she had always thought _what if?_

And then there was the dream she had induced upon him, and his slumbered reaction. _Sakura-chan_. She had sworn she had heard. Oh, how she longed to hear her favorite blonde idiot call her that, just one more time. But, of course, Tenchi didn't know her. He couldn't have said Sakura-chan. Not like Naruto used to. _Unless he's him._

Something about Tenchi was eerily familiar. She could tell.

She had to know. She had to know if the man she loved was now the sociopathic killer she was embracing. Carefully, almost silently, she pulled out of the sleeping bag, doing her best to make as little movement as possible as she pulled her arms away from the ANBU.

Once she was free, she shuffled over around, and sat in front of him on her hands and knees. She gazed at the chipped and worn down demon mask he wore. Inside those black holes, she had often seen a dark, deep shade of blue.

Using her hand, she shakily reached over. Her heart rate was fast, and she feared he could hear it thumping in her chest. Her breathing became heavy as her finger tips grazed the top of his mask, and the soft hair underneath his hood.

She lightly gripped the top of the mask, and began to pull. His chin became visible as the mask was lifted. _Just a bit more..._

She just about screamed when a hand snatched her wrist. "Whut're you doin'?" A half asleep Tenchi said, his eyes barely open.

"Ah...n-nothing. J-just...making sure y-you were breathing." _Fuck, nice lie Sakura. Now he's definitely going to know we were up to something._

He smacked his lips, somehow content with the answer. "M'kayyyy..." And he was asleep once more.

She shook her head to get out of her daze. She's just being paranoid. There was no way Tenchi was Naruto; Naruto was out galivanting around the world like Jiraiya used to.

The medic-nin slipped back into the sleeping bag, her mind finally calming down. Logically, it was impossible for Tenchi to be Naruto. The blonde was never violent, never ruthless and basically lived off of his emotions. He was the furthest thing from the dark, brooding torturer that she was in charge of healing.

Her stomach dropped even more at the thought of Naruto being like Jiraiya. The Toad Sannin was a notorious pervert, and was almost famous in many of the brothels that adorned the shinobi world. There was no need to get jealous, but she couldn't help it.

She hated that she had always 'relied' on Naruto having feelings for her. It made her feel like a manipulative bitch, even though she'd only ever used his feelings once. _That was to save him, too..._

It wasn't like they were together. Naruto was free to do whatever he wanted, and sleep around with whoever he wanted.

But that didn't get rid of the painful twinge in her stomach about the idea of the man she loved being with somebody else.

* * *

A/N: Once again, sorry if this was a shitty chapter. Thanks to FicsRLulz, of course, for betaing this mess.

I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story, btw! It really makes my day when I see a positive review on this. Thanks to all of you! :D


	15. Feelings

A/N: WHOOP. NEXT CHAPTER. THIS IS A BIG ONE!

AND HOLY FUCK. FIVE HUNDRED REVIEWS!

Thank you all! Seriously. I love every one of you. I honestly never expected my terrible writing to get this much attraction, but I'm seriously glad all of you are enjoying this story.

Schools got me pinned down like a machine gun, so updates may be a little slower in the coming weeks while I get back into the thick of things. I've got exams/summatives to do, plus I completely fucking forgot about my community service hours. Fuck senior year.

Anyhoozle, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! We're finally movin' along.

REVIEW WHEN YOU'RE DONE! IT MAKES ME PUKE RAINBOWS AND PISS EXCELENCE WHEN I SEE THEM. ESPECIALLY THE LONG ONES. :D

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 15 - Feelings**_

* * *

Doshi and Tenzo watched as Hana and Tenchi sat at the campfire, playing a game of Shogi.

The two captains of Squad 14 were deep in discussion about the war. It was as fierce as ever; Squad 14 had volunteered to clean up the outlying sectors that had bordered the Land of Sound.

Oto had been making increasing advances, and the Alliance's ANBU forces have worn thin. In fact, Kumo had recently entered the warzone, on request from the Hokage.

Tenzo and Doshi were speaking about the last sector they had to clean up before they entered the 'red-zone' when Hana and Tenchi burst out into laughter.

"Did Tenchi just..." Tenzo started, and Doshi simply nodded. "He...just laughed."

They had observed Tenchi's recent change in behavior quite thoroughly. Although it wasn't significant, things such as him genuinely laughing or speaking more often were out of the ordinary and almost...frightening.

Doshi had gotten so used to his subordinate's anti-social ways that it unnerved him when he displayed any sort of positive emotion...something that had happened more ever since Hana joined the team.

Tenchi had apparantly said something rude, because Hana reached over and slapped him on the arm. It was meant to be playful, but it ended up slamming him into the snowy forest floor.

Instead of huffing or getting angry, the demon masked ANBU simply laughed once more and dusted the flurries off of his cloak.

The captain of squad 14 frowned deeply under his mask. A feeling of foreboding filled his gut; putting the two of them on the same squad was a mistake.

He knew how Tenchi's mind worked. He put up a front of indifference and animosity to shield himself from what he truly felt.

He had no doubts in his mind that he had gotten over Sakura Haruno...but his relationship with 'Hana' could end catastrophically.

"I'm going to talk to him..."

"Why?"

"While I'm ecstatic he's finally breaking out of his shell, this could end poorly."

"...You mean..?"

"Yes."

* * *

"What did you want to talk about, captain?" Tenchi asked as the duo traveled deep into the woods. He was a bit confused; the silver-haired man never wanted to speak to him privately before.

They arrived in a thicket of trees and shrubs. The ANBU captain slipped off his mask, furthering his teammate's confusion. It revealed a still-masked face of the man who had taught and trained him for years. His sharingan eye was still closed, and dirt covered his face.

After a small gesture from Doshi, Tenchi did the same. He threw his hood back, and removed his mask, showing an incredibly ragged face that had been to hell and back.

Naruto revelled in times like these; where he wasn't forced to stay behind a mask and cloak. Where he could be known as Naruto Uzumaki, and not Tenchi.

"It's hard to believe eleven years ago, you were a short little loud-mouth and screamed about being a ninja and Hokage..." Kakashi mused, a tone of both sadness and fondness as he gazed at his longtime student.

Naruto shifted a little, raising a brow.

"It's been almost three years since you became an ANBU agent, you know what that means. Your probationary period is almost over."

"And?"

"When that's done, you may stay in the black ops, or you can be honorably discharged like I was."

A frown appeared on Naruto's face as the prospect of leaving ANBU, and sensing the blonde's distress, the copy-nin raised his hand before he could protest.

"Unfortunately, the war is increasing in violence and scale. The Hokage is pouring more and more ANBU into this nation, and she's requested that Kumo lend it's aid. Iwa and Kiri already backed out thanks to those captures a while back, so we need all we can get."

"Three of the big five can't take down Oto?"

"I wanted to keep this information quiet until the operation rolls out, but Oto is far more powerful than we've realized. The internment camps and outposts we've run into for the past few years are only a fraction of what they're truly capably of. The capital village...we sent a few spies in to see what kind of heat they're packing. It's not good."

"What do they have?"

"If what the reports said were true, they have at least one thousand Curse Seal troops on stand-by, not to mention their hefty regular force and spec ops."

Naruto blanched significantly. "You're joking."

"I'm not. In a few weeks from now, the Alliance is pulling out all the stops. We're sending in the full ANBU force of Konoha, Suna and Kumo to take out Otogakure and completely cripple the enemy."

"I see...what's that got to do with me?"

"It's an all-or-nothing shot, Naruto. There's no guarantee this operation will be a success. The Hokage wants you, and by extent, us, to stay in Oto. Even past your probationary period."

"I have no problems with that." The blonde said, a small smile on his face. The silver-haired man was shocked at the actual sight of him being happy.

Kakashi sighed. "What's going on with you, Naruto?"

The blonde leaned against the tree, and crossed his arms. The sleeves rustled lightly in the cool, winter breeze that blew by. It was mid-January, and all of Squad 14 were looking forward to the next season.

"What do you mean 'what's going on'?" He questioned, his face now stoic and unfeeling, though there were still traces of his earlier confusion and smile lingering in his expression.

"What I mean is...why are you so...almost _content_?" Kakashi pressed, trying to find the right words. Naruto's face lit up in realization.

"You mean the laughing, smiling...and the lack of brooding on my part?" The silver-haired ANBU nodded, and Naruto shrugged.

"I don't know. I just haven't been feeling so...pessimistic and apathetic lately."

"Is it Hana?"

"I think so. With her...I dunno. I just feel like I can relax...like I can _breathe_. When I'm around her, I can _feel_...something."

Kakashi was tense; that much was certain. _Th_is _could either end really well for everyone...or it could end in catastrophe._

"What happens when she's around you?" He asked, almost reluctantly. His old student's eyes brightened slightly; something he hadn't seen in years.

"It's hard to describe. With you guys, I can be myself, y'know? I don't have to worry about saying weird shit, or being apathetic about stuff. But with her...I just feel _human_. Like I don't have to kill or torture to keep my sanity. When I'm around her, it's unlike anything I've felt in the past few years. My chest constricts and relaxes like crazy...I feel the need to talk and laugh more...I don't know..."

"What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked with a laugh of disdain. Though he was still cautious, Kakashi's lone eye crinkled in amusement.

"Do you want my take?"

"Officially, it's been far too long since you've actually socialized and been comfortable with somebody, especially that of the opposite sex. I'm sorry, but two ANBU captains aren't proper conversationalists." He admitted, a hint of amusement in his voice. A small smile spread across Naruto's lips.

"And unofficially?" He questioned.

"Unofficially..." The copy-nin sighed, and prepared himself to say the next words. He didn't know if he should, but the man in front of him needed to know.

"You're falling in love."

The silence was deafening. All that was heard was the wind blowing through the dead trees, and the soft, almost illusionary sounds of explosions and fighting far off into the distance.

No sign of any emotion crossed across Naruto's face. The smile dropped, but Kakashi couldn't see anything within those cerulean depths.

"I'm falling in love." He repeated, a slight hint of disbelief in his voice. The word was a complete mystery to him now.

Kakashi nodded. _Oh boy._

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean...you're falling in love with Hana. She's your new anchor; someone you can rely upon, can trust implicity, someone who cares for you as you care for her-"

"Kaka-sensei." Naruto cut him off, his face stern.

"How can I possibly feel...love..? Last time..." He trailed off, memories of how he felt for Sakura running through his mind. His affection had impeded his judgement and caused him to feel unbearable suffering.

Shaking his head of those thoughts, he continued.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not falling in love with her. That's just...absurd. She's just been close to me and helping me deal with my own personal shit."

"Why have you guys been sleeping together? Laughing together?" Kakashi persisted. He _knew _what was happening to Naruto. Years of living with someone can do that.

And he wanted to stop it at all costs. The blonde needed to recognize his feelings, then purge them. The first time his heart was broken, it drove him to the ANBU Black Ops and turned him into a merciless killer.

He didn't want to know what would happen the second time, especially if the same person was the cause of it.

"I needed the comfort." The blonde stated, as if trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Kakashi. The idea of being in love frightened him.

It was a terrible thing. It left you vunerable and prone to suffering. Nothing can compare to the angst and paranoia one feels when dealing with unrequited, head-over-heels love.

The copy-nin sighed. Even after all the years he's known him, Naruto was still as stubborn as ever.

"Be that as it may...I still think you are developing something more than comradery for her." The blonde's face contorted into frustration, and he uncrossed his arms.

Naruto began to walk away, and slid his mask onto his face, signalling the end of the conversation. "Of course I feel more than comradery for her. She's one of my precious people now."

* * *

Tenchi was livid the rest of the day, and the following week. He was angry. Angry at his captain, at Konoha, at the world, and himself.

He didn't enjoy Doshi trying to push his insane ideas onto him. Love? He could barely feel happy, least of all any sort of romantic affection.

He was so angry, in fact, he began to seclude himself once again from his squad. Hana had approached him multiple times, seeking some conversation, but he shut her out. Even though it was ridiculous, if what Doshi said was true, he was going to distance himself from her. He remembered very well the pain and suffering he felt because of his affection towards Sakura.

The consuming jealous thoughts, the pure suffering of unrequited affection, the rage and irrational hatred.

He wouldn't go through that again.

And so, he vented his frustration the only way he knew how.

The demon masked ANBU roughly punched another captured Oto Chuunin in the jaw.

"Heh. Go fuck yourself. I'm not tellin' you anything."

The demon-masked ANBU sighed. This guy was just adding onto the irritation he was already experiencing.

A small glance at his teammates caused him to frown. Really? In love with Hana?

The thought was ridiculous. Ludicrous, even. He was not falling in love with his female teammate...though he'd already done the same thing, years ago.

A spike of frustration hit him, and he kicked the man violently in the ribs. He heard one of them crack, and the Oto-nin cried out in pain.

Sure, Hana was extremely kind, smart, funny, feisty and fun to be around, not to mention her body was out of this world and she was most likely beautiful under her mask...

_Fuck no!_

Another punch to the jaw sent the man into a daze. Blood leaked slightly from his mouth, mixed in with the saliva. Smirking sadistically under his mask, Tenchi untied the man from the tree he was bound to, and pulled him towards a rock that was lying nearby. It sat in between the forest they were currently in, and a large river that trailed into some violent rapids.

The Oto-nin's mind cleared up when he felt his wrists being held. Tenchi pinned his foot on to the man's head, placing his victim's head a few inches from the hard stone.

The shinobi hissed in pain when the cleats dug into the skin on his head, but said nothing.

Pulling the man's arms back, and putting pressure on his head, he laughed slightly. "You better tell us your force numbers."

"Or else?" The Oto-nin asked arrogantly, though his was extremely frightened of what this ANBU could to him.

"Or else...I let go of your hands here and send your face flying into that rock."

His ANBU comrades clinched at the thought of their teeth smashing into the hard surface the man's face was near. They were all on watch, making sure no other patrols found them while they were gathering information.

A pile of Oto corpses lay near the riverbank; Squad 14 had intercepted them when they were heading to an internment camp in the sector next to theirs.

They all thought the same thing. Tenchi was getting creative.

Digging his boot harder into the man's scalp, the ANBU couldn't help but revel in what he was doing. It had been months since he interrogated anyone. It felt too long, but he surprised himself by remembering that the whole time he was with Hana, he hadn't even thought about hurting anyone like this.

But damn, did it feel good.

"W-wait a second! I don't know anything!" The man yelled, panic evident in his voice and his futile struggles to break free.

"You have five seconds."

"I said wait! Please! I'm just a chuunin!"

"Four."

"God damnit! You fucking asshole!"

"Three."

"WAIT! PLEASE! I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING ELSE! I DON'T KNOW!"

"Two."

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL ALL OF YO-"

Tenchi paused his counting. "You'll kill me? Now _that_...would be a twist!" He said in a humored tone.

A few more moments of struggling on the Oto-nin's paart, and Tenchi finally decided to end it.

"One."

The crack was sickening. The man's open jaw smashed into the rock when Tenchi released his wrists. His teeth shattered in his mouth, and his jaw completely dislocated and fractured.

"MMMMMM!" He screamed into the stone, his eyes wide in pain and agony. His body thrashed around desperately as his teeth and bones bit into and punctured his skin. Blood and a bit of flesh splattered onto the rock, creating an incredibly gruesome scene.

Even Tenchi flinched slightly at the mess he made. "Whoopsie daisies." He remarked quietly. _Oh well. He's worthless, anyways._

He decided to put the man out of his misery, and he snapped his neck with a smooth, fluid movement.

His teammates all looked at him in what he believed was shock and horror.

Shrugging at their stairs, he quickly picked up the body and added it to the pile, then left to go back to their makeshift camp a few kilometers away; the rest of Squad 14 decided to forget what just happened, and they followed him.

* * *

Tenzo and Tenchi sparred against one another, their steel blades clashing and creating sparks as they struck.

"Is something wrong, Hana?"

She and Doshi were sitting on a large branch. After that confrontation with the Oto patrol squad, the silver-haired captain had decided to give Icha Icha a day off to relax and unwind.

Pushing a few strands of hair away from her mask, she nodded. "It's Tenchi. I'm...worried about him."

"Oh?"

"He's been growing distant the past few days...things were working out really well. His nightmares had stopped, he hadn't been as aloof as he usually was, and he was actually being...normal."

"But now...he isn't?"

"I don't know what happened. One day, we're laughing over a game of shogi, the next, he's back to the way he was when I joined the team."

"I see. I've noticed that as well." _And I think it was my fault...I probably scared him by saying he was in love._

After scolding himself, an amused smile spread across his masked face. "You two have gotten closer."

She detected the lecherous tone in his voice. Smacking his arm, she gazed at the sky sadly. "I don't like him like that."

"Really? So sleeping together in the same tent doesn't mean anything?"

"It's platonic. I know it and he knows it. It's just to help with his nightmares. Besides...I know where my loyalties lie."

Her sad tone caused him to instantly think of his old, late student. "I see...my condolences, once again." He replied. Sasuke's death still weighed heavily on his heart.

Hana shot him a look. "Your condolences? For what?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"Sasuke. I know...how hard it is to lose the one you care most about."

Surprising him, she shook her head. "No. I mean...Sasuke's death still haunts me to this day...but..." He instantly noted the lack of the affectionate suffix at the end of the Uchiha's name, and her words clicked in his mind.

"You mean you love someone else?" He asked, barely containing the shock in his voice. She nodded once more, a sigh escaping her lips. Her green eyes scanned the grey, February sky, as if looking for something...or someone.

"If you don't mind me asking...who?" His eye was wide in astonishment. He always thought her reasoning for joining the ANBU was because the loss of Sasuke was too much for her to handle; just as the loss of Obito and Rin drove him to the black ops.

A sad, pained smile spread across her lips. "He's the one I've caused the most pain...the one I've driven away from not only my love, but my friendship as well."

"You...don't mean...?"

"Yup. The blonde baka himself. Naruto..."

This just completely shattered who he thought the woman under the mask was. She had always loved Sasuke; it was a fact everyone knew. A world where she didn't love Sasuke was a world where she didn't exist.

"Forgive me...but how did _that _happen?"

She sighed deeply, fiddling with her hands. "When I was a girl...I wasn't always so loud and confident like I was when we became a team. I was extremely shy, and...I was often bullied."

The silver-haired man listened intently as she told her story. He never bothered to get to truly know her like he did Naruto and Sasuke; something he still regreted to this day.

The only thing he knew of her was that she was a 'book-smart kunoichi with excellent chakra control, but no motivation to further her career thanks to personal affections'. He instantly figured out what exactly those 'personal affections' were when he was introduced to Team 7.

"My forehead was always the target of the other girls' scorn. Apparently pink hair was nothing compared to my oversized 'billboard-brow'." She said with a bit of humor in her face. Looking back on it now, it was silly to feel saddened and hurt by the girls that tormented her. None of them became ninja in the end.

"Even throughout the days of the academy, when I drew out of my shyness and became more confident and outgoing, particularly towards Sasuke, I still had a deep-seated insecurity."

"Erm...what does this have to do with anything?" Doshi asked, scratching his head in a confused manner. She flicked him in the arm and continued.

"On the day of our team assignments, I was sitting at a bench, sulking about how I wasn't pretty enough. And then, like a fairy tale, Sasuke walked up to me and complimented the one feature I was most insecure about."

"I'm guessing this is where your love for Sasuke began."

"No, actually. It's where my love for Naruto blossomed."

"Huh?"

She sighed. "It was him...always him. Sasuke never complimented me; in fact, right after 'he' left, the true Sasuke came up to me and insulted me right to my face..." She trailed off sadly, scratching a piece of dirt off her nail.

"Naruto henged into Sasuke, didn't he?"

A chuckle escaped the redhead's lips, and she nodded.

"I always had a thing for him, I think. I remember when I first saw him; a gang of villagers was surrounding him, and I wanted to know why the cute little blonde boy was so sad."

"When did you figure this all out? I mean...you were _really _in love with Sasuke."

"In an effort...to keep the image of Team 7 alive, I clung to my love for him like it was the only thing keeping me sane. It was always Naruto yelling at Sasuke, me fawning over Sasuke, and Sasuke ignoring both of us. Team 7 was the first place I ever truly belonged..."

"So...during the Kage Summit..."

"My old infatuation for Sasuke prevented me from doing anything, and let me see past what he tried to do to me...but my feelings were always misguided, right from the beginning."

Doshi nodded, and gazed back at the demon-masked ANBU. _Not even Icha Icha has this kind of drama. I'm actually starting to think this is staged. He's over her, she's in love with him, yet he's falling in love with her when neither know who the other is. _

"Why did you join the ANBU, then?"

"I wanted to become something more. To become worthy. Worthy of being a kunoichi, of being the Hokage's apprentice, of being a medic-nin...of being with Naruto, both in comradery, friendship...and love."

* * *

A certain demon-masked soldier laid on a tree branch, staring at the night sky. February was nearing it's end, and the nation they resided in was beginning to warm up.

He was lazily sprawled on the wood, his head supported by his rolled up sleeping bag as he stared up at the night stars. The moon was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds, but it's shine still lit up most of the clearing Squad 14 was in.

His thoughts were on his captain's words from a few weeks before. They had dug deep into his mind, and had planted a seed of doubt, realization and confusion within it.

When he chose to forget Sakura, Sasuke and Team 7, he vowed to never again open his heart and mind the way he did to his teammates. Trust, he found, was a thing he gave out too generously and too easily.

He didn't regret joining the ANBU; in fact, quite the opposite. He had found it was the greatest decision he ever made.

He just wished he wasn't so...ruthless. So violent and blood thirsty.

Doshi's words rang within his head. _'You're falling in love. Hana is your new anchor...'_

At first, he outright denied it; hell, it made him pissed that his silver-haired superior would even say something like that.

But glancing down at his red-haired teammates form, mercilessly reading a copy of Icha Icha, he couldn't help but doubt his own resolve.

Was he in love with Hana?

It sounded impossible. The only woman whom he had ever fallen in love with was Sakura Haruno, and he had taken steps to keep it that way. So many opportunities and chances for happiness were wasted away in his quest to keep her happy, and keep the spark of hope that she would return his affections alive.

But...Hana made him feel everything Sakura once made him feel. She made him laugh alot, she had a scolding affection that he adored, her temper filled him with respect and awe. Her combat skills were nothing short of extraordinary, not to mention her profound medical abilities.

He had ruled out the idea of her being Karin; the Uzumaki had red, crimson-colored eyes. Not green.

In the back of his mind, Tenchi had an ever sinking suspicion as to who Hana might be, but it was overruled by concrete evidence. She reads Icha Icha, she's in the ANBU, and her chakra enhanced strength isn't mountain-crumbling powerful.

Shaking his head, he returned to his earlier thoughts. Love.

What a concept for him to think about.

He tried something the late Toad Sannin had tried with him years ago when he refused a 'paid lay' Jiraiya had offered him. He had told the pervert that he was already smitten with someone, and Jiraiya immediately questioned him.

He asked him to make a list of all the good things about Sakura, and all the bad things.

He didn't come up with anything bad.

Hana; powerful, intelligent, gorgeous, good listener, hilarious, fiery, independent.

His heart twinged in his chest when he couldn't find anything negative.

She made him feel amazing. Like he wasn't some emotionless torturer that enjoyed people's pain. Like he was somebody important, somebody likeable, somebody that's worth something.

Another thump in his chest.

She was everything he wanted, needed and more.

It then hit him like a fucking brick wall at forty miles an hour.

_Son of a bitch._

* * *

A/N: AND SO IT BEGINS.

Next chapter will be...quite dramatic. ;D SPOILARZ

Thanks for reading! Hopefully Naruto's feelings didn't seem to be rushed out or anything.

Oh, and just a heads up; don't expect things to be peaches n cream later on. The NaruSaku isn't going to be disney-land magical princess shit.

Tears will be shed.

Blood will be spilt.

AND A BOATLOAD OF ANGST FOR YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE.

HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY.

-Swagosaurus.


	16. Naruto Uzumaki

A/N: Here's my biggest chapter yet, I think.

I hope you guys enjoy; it was really fun and interesting to write.

Thanks to FicsRLulz again. :D

**Dark scenes ahead. You know the drill.**

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 17 - Naruto Uzumaki**_

* * *

_Son of a bitch._

His mind was swirling with emotion.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Not again. He had promised himself his heart would be locked away, never to be given away. He would finish his life in the ANBU within a few years, work with Tsunade to become Hokage, and lead his village to prosperity and peace.

Too bad he became a sociopathic killer and ended up falling in love with his teammate.

He sat up, grunting in displeasure under his breath as long-buried emotions began to surface. This wasn't good.

The realization of his feelings for Hana was staggering, to say the least. It sent tremors down his spine, and quickened his heart. He didn't like it. Not one bit.

So there he was, staring at the stars, wondering how the hell this all happened.

Now that he though about it, he remembered vaguely what being in love felt like. What he felt for Hana was eerily familiar to what he once felt for Sakura.

And it hurt.

Thinking about how unrequited love felt and what he feels now, he knew it still hurt. It still slightly ached in his chest when he thought of what became of his old team. Sasuke and Sakura marrying. Their confrontations with one another. Everything that followed after.

He remembered what it felt like when she had said Sasuke's name instead of his. And fuck. It was still painful.

It wasn't just the pain of her yelling for Sasuke and not him. It broke his seemingly unbreakable confidence. It caused him to become conceited and vicious, angry and hostile. It destroyed the once cheerful ramen-loving future Hokage.

Of course, he was still the courageous, boisterous and loud man he always was. He forced that particular memory behind him, and whenever he and Sakura met up, he had pretended like it never happened. But he couldn't change the fact that it did. That he had finally had the girl of his dreams, the woman he had loved for years, only to be used and stepped on like a broken toy.

Thinking back on it with an unbiased mind, he could see the logic in Sakura's defence. Of course, it was still a terrible scar upon his mind, but he could see it was at least somewhat understandable. She was worried for his safety; her concern had clouded her mind, brought forth emotions that didn't exist, and birthed the mistake that was them having sex.

Sakura, he now noticed, had always had some sort of soft spot for him. In the growing days of Team 7, he could remember the soft glances she would sometimes send his way, the stifled and terribly hidden giggles at some of his antics. Not to mention her small sacrifices to help him improve as a shinobi and a person.

And then, when he returned from his training trip with Jiraiya. Their bond had grown closer and deeper than ever, often to the point where he would sometimes wonder if bringing Sasuke back was such a wonderful thing.

Of course, when he was 16, bringing Sasuke back was 'paramount to Team 7's happiness'. Naruto would have his brother back, Kakashi his student, and Sakura her...lover.

What a load of bullshit.

He must have overlooked the fact that brining Sasuke back would only hurt him in the end. He would be pushed aside, like he always was, in favor of the Uchiha. The prodigy. The golden boy of Konoha.

Though, when he _did _bring Sasuke back, none of that really happened. The Uchiha was not met with cheers and 'welcome-backs'. Instead, he was presented with scorn, an iron-locked cell, and a good amount of time of captivity until he was deemed safe to return to the public.

On the flip side, Naruto was praised and respected for his efforts in the war. He had recieved the admiration and acknowledgment he had desired for so many years of his life. He had thrived on that, and used it to make himself a better person and make the village an even better place. He just missed out on the one thing that he had desired above almost all else.

But he could still feel the wounds of the horrible swirl of negativity that had consumed him back then. When he had stood there as the best man at his best-friend's wedding. Where said best friend got married to the woman he, the best man, had loved for years.

The feeling of emptiness; of loneliness and abandonment. They were leaving him behind, to start a new life without him. It always happened that way. No one loved or cared for Naruto Uzumaki.

He remembered forcing a grin onto his pained face, all for the sake of keeping _her _smiling. It all seemed so important back then, keeping her happy, but thinking on those days, Tenchi couldn't help but feel it was all for nothing.

And then he had made his speech; one of the hardest things he's ever had to do in his life. People don't know heartbreak until they say a speech at the wedding of the person they love. A wedding which isn't their's.

It just became a train wreck from there. A few days of his heartache felt like twenty years. Feeling the loss, _knowing _that she was having fun, intimacy and happiness but not with him. He wasn't the cause of Sakura's happiness. So why was it that he tried so hard to make it that way?

_Because I loved her._ He mused. Another tremor went down his spine. It had been years since he really thought about his emotions; about life, and love, and hate, and despair.

A little smile crept up on his face when he remembered his days with a certain blonde kunoichi. Ino.

Those were some memories he cherished. His first _true _lover. He didn't necessarily count Sakura as a 'lover'.

Of course, he didn't exactly see himself and Ino as _lovers _in that sense either, due to the fact there was little _romantic _attraction between them. It was mostly just sex.

Painfully hot, angry and angsty sex.

Two broken hearts coming together. It created sparks; it was passionate, heated and amazing. It was times like those that he wished he _hadn't _joined the ANBU. But, it had to happen.

Without ANBU, he wouldn't have gotten over Sakura. He wouldn't have truly experienced what he needed in order to lead a village, and he wouldn't have helped the war. A war which the Hokage said he was an extremely valuable asset in.

He wondered what would have been had he stayed in Konoha, and not gotten over Sakura the way he had in the Black Ops. Would he had found someone else? Would he be _happy_, knowing the woman he still loved was with another man?

Would Sasuke still be alive?

The answer to that was no. He wouldn't. No matter how much influence he had over the village because of his efforts against Pein and during the Fourth War, he wouldn't have been able to sway the Uchiha's fate.

Then he wondered; it all happened because Sasuke was put into the CRA, meaning that his relationship with Sakura had deteriorated.

_Did I do that?_

It was quite the coincidence that when he had revealed his relations with Sakura, and then left the village, the Uchiha's relationship had gone downhill. Perhaps he did cause this.

He wondered how everyone in the village was doing. The Konoha 11, the jounin sensei, the guards, the Hokage and her assistant.

The thought of Hinata made him cringe. He had been such an inconsiderate jerk back then. He had _said _he knew how unrequited love felt, but only until years later did he actually know the meaning of it.

He thought of how she was doing. They had left off on very good terms, something that brought him a sembelance of relief.

And then there was Sakura. The girl that was once everything to him.

He should miss her; he should feel _something _for her.

But then again, he didn't particularly feel anything significant for any of his old friends. Only a sense of nostalgia and a slight pang of affection.

A snap of a twig cut him off from his deep thoughts. He glanced down to see his female teammate staring up at him, rubbing the back of her neck as her messy, crimson hair framed her face.

"Can't sleep either?" She asked, and he shook his head. She sighed, and used her chakra to jump up into the air and land on the branch Tenchi was situated on. With that, they began an easy, light conversation.

* * *

So here they were. Hana and Tenchi, sitting in a tree. The demon-masked ANBU vaguely remembered a childhood tease that would go along with a situation like this, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

They were talking comfortably; of home, of Konoha. He had felt as though he should stay away from Hana; force himself out of her company to save himself the heartbreak and destroy any non-friendly feelings he had towards her.

But the prospect of talking so _easily_, so _comfortably_ with her caused him to stay.

They finished talking about the Hokage when a somewhat awkward silence blanketed them. He cast a glance over to her, and admired her stealthily. While he was leaning with his back against the trunk of the tree, she was plopped down near the middle of the branch, swaying her feet back and forth in an almost childlike manner. Her long, crimson hair blew gently in the wind, creating an incredibly peaceful and endearing image.

"Have you ever been in love?" He asked. _Nice, Naruto. Good way to break the ice._

"Hmm?" She hummed, turning to him. He could practically see her green eyes light up in confusion.

"I said have you ever been in love? I-I mean with somebody else." He cursed himself for his awkwardness, and prayed she didn't catch his nervousness. _Calm down. You don't love her. You don't love her._

That was a lie, and he knew it.

"Ah..." She trailed off, looking at the sky. "Yeah. I mean, I have been."

She turned back to him. "Have you?" Her voice was soft and soothing, and he somewhat wanted to keep his information to himself, but the sound of her words caused his wall to crack.

"Yeah...it was a long time ago, though."

"Want to talk about it...? You sound...like it's weighing on your mind." She reluctantly said, choosing her words carefully so Tenchi didn't feel like his privacy was being violated. The demon-masked ANBU still was aloof when it came to his personal matters; sometimes he would even snap at her for even asking a simple question.

"Like I said...it was a long time ago. I was in love with a girl. She was...perfect to me, in every way. Even before we were close, I knew I had it bad for her. She was...everything to me..." He reminisced, the familiar bittersweet feeling invading his gut.

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" She questioned quietly, shuffling over a bit.

"We had a falling out...it ended really badly. She...loved another. Things just didn't work out." He stated, absently rubbing his chest; something Hana didn't miss. _It seems he's not so apathetic after all..._

His words struck a cord deep within her, and she felt her curiosity piqued.

"Do you still...you know...love her?"

"I'd be lying to myself if I said it didn't bother me any more, but I'm sure I'm over her."

"Were you two together...?"

"No...no. I...sometimes wish, though. Perhaps I wouldn't be in Oto...perhaps..." He trailed off. She noticed he was sad; he was actually showing a sembelance of an emotion.

"I don't suppose you'd like to tell me the full story? We've got nothing else to do, and I doubt I'd be going back to sleep anytime soon." Hana asked casually, though deep inside, her mind was spinning; trying to figure out why the increasing familiarity of Tenchi was starting to get to her.

He exhaled loudly. He had only told three people the whole story; two of which were down below them, sleeping peacefully.

He weighed his options. He had never truly gotten a female's perspective on the debacle between him and Sakura; Ino had helped, but she was dealing with her own heartbreak with Shikamaru, so it was hard to _really _talk about what happened.

His earlier realization of his feelings for Hana, followed by his discovery of how much pain he was burying, loosened his lips. Before, it never seemed important. His 'love-life', if you could call it that, with Sakura, was non-existent and he didn't care for it anymore.

But something about talking to Hana; about talking to the woman he now had feelings for soothed him. Made the pain go away. The dull aches faded with every word he said.

"The girl I loved...I don't know when I fell in love with her. Perhaps it was when I first saw her, or maybe it was when I began to get closer to her. Either way, one day I woke up, and suddenly a huge part of my life was now trying to keep her happy. Her smile...it was my smile. When she was happy, no matter what, it made me happy...or so I thought." He began, and she listened intently; this was a chance she didn't want to miss.

It had taken months, almost a year, to get Tenchi to open up; she didn't know why he was now, or what was causing him to, but she couldn't complain.

"It seemed so goddamned _important_ then. It was as if she was one of the few reasons I got up in the morning. To an extent, that was true...but the big picture was much more than some silly crush."

"What was she like?" Hana asked, genuinely curious.

A chuckle came from his lips. "Almost like you, I think. It's all such a blur. I couldn't remember her face up until that dream a while ago, but...even though our relationship is now nothing, I can still admit she was beautiful. She was feisty, hotheaded...and very emotional."

_Almost like you._ Hana thought. _Feisty...hotheaded. _Things were gradually becoming clearer, but she said nothing, and continued to hear his story. Nonetheless, the similarities between the girl Tenchi loved and herself were unnerving her.

"I loved her...but she loved another. I never did understand why. He was always such a prick. Acting all high and mighty, looking down on everyone; even his own teammates. What a bastard..." He said, almost in an angry tone, but it carried some resembelance of sadness within.

Her heart rate picked up. His story was eerily familiar...almost impossibly so. She had always had a suspicion, one she thought she debunked a few months ago, that Tenchi was someone she used to know; someone she had missed dearly.

"My mindset for romance was always 'if I can't have her, then I'll have noone else'. That only ended up hurting me more in the end...I should have moved on when I had the chance. She fucked me over...literally."

"Wh..what caused you guys to grow apart?" She stammered slightly, but he didn't catch it.

He stopped, and she observed him looking down. No matter how hard he tried, throwing up his wall of indifference didn't make memories disappear.

But he feared he had spoken too much already; his situation was very unique, and he didn't want Hana to find out who he was. At least not in that moment in time.

"It's nothing you should worry yourself with. I'll say this; shit happened which caused me to feel the worst betrayal and anger I've ever felt in my life. Before, I was happy; content. Now...well..." He trailed off, and she nodded in understanding.

She stood up, stretching and yawning. "I'm glad you're over her. If it drove you to this place...it must have been horrible, whatever happened." She said, a frown forming on her face.

"So am I...so am I. Goodnight, Hana." He said, before leaning back onto the tree and returning his gaze to the sky.

After muttering her reply, she hopped back down on the ground, and entered her tent. She was glad; happy Tenchi opened up to her.

But the sinking feeling that Tenchi wasn't just some anonymous ANBU that she had never met was starting to eat away at her.

* * *

"Pack your shit, we're moving out!"

Tenchi watched in awe as literally hundreds of Konoha's, Suna's and Kumo's finest black ops agents ran through the massive expanse of clearing towards the rather large set of buildings and structures in the distance.

It was what Tsunade called the 'last push'; after years of tug of war between Alliance forces and Oto troops, they decided to pull a mass operation and go straight for the head of the snake; Otogakure, the Village Hidden by the Sound.

Squad 14 had linked up with the other ANBU forces a few days after the conversation between Hana and Tenchi. The two had spent the majority of the time together; every squad was set up with the 'buddy-system' in case the teams got split up. Hana was with Tenchi, and Doshi was with Tenzo.

As Icha Icha joined the mass-movement of Alliance Black Ops soldiers, they were expecting the next few hours, and possibly days, to be gruesome.

And with good reason.

* * *

"Akari, watch out!" A Kumo-nin yelled as a curse-sealed enemy ran at his female teammate.

The woman didn't look in time, and the Oto-nin's hand mutated into a massive spike-like appendage, which impaled her straight through the gut.

The girl's squad instantly took down the man, stabbing him to death with four swords at once. After the body slumped to the ground, they rushed to their comrade's body.

"WE NEED A MEDIC!"

Those screams were only one of dozens, even hundreds, as ANBU, civilians and Oto-nin alike were slaughtered and killed by one-another.

Squad 14 rushed through the madness; they were tasked with clearing out Oto's intelligence headquarters. The screams of combat and the fleeing civilians filled the air.

Their backs hit the wall of the rear entrance. Tenchi gripped a kunai tightly in one hand, and the other reached for the door knob.

After nodding to his teammates, he burst through the door. He was instantly blinded by the bright lights within, but blinked away the blurriness and rushed down the hallway, his team close behind.

There was a large metal door at the end; Doshi made a hand sign for them to stop, then glanced at what they were in front of.

"This is the operations center...get ready."

They nodded, and after he placed a few exploding tags on each of the hinges, they backed up, swords at the ready.

The captain counted down from three to one, before setting off the tags. A series of small 'pops' rang throughout the hallway as the door was blown out, and it fell to the ground with a crash when it's support was gone.

Squad 14 rushed into the room, past the dust and the smoke from the explosions, and entered the 'operations center'.

It was empty. Completely empty.

"What the hell?" Tenzo said, glancing around the large open space. It was a massive room, but it had nothing in it. The walls were a dark, deep green in color, and were made of solid concrete, like the rest of the structure.

"Check the radio, I think we got the wrong building." The captain said, and Tenchi nodded.

He flipped the switch on his ear piece, and turned up the volume. The rest of the squad did the same. He instantly cringed at what he heard.

_"All units! This is the commander speaking! I think our intel was wrong. This isn't Otogakure."_

"What the fuck do you mean this isn't Otogakure?" The demon masked ANBU yelled as he paced around the room. A feeling of dread began to fill the members of Icha Icha.

_"The intel was bugged! We were mislead; this isn't their village. I think it might be a-" _

A large amount of static filled the radio, followed by a massive explosion from outside that rocked the building and most of the village.

"What the hell was that?" Tenzo asked, flexing his arms as his grip tightened on his sword.

"The radio's dead- wait, no it isn't.." Doshi said as more voices filled the channel, and the village outside erupted into a full-scale war.

_"Jesus christ...they're everywhere!"_

_"They didn't have a thousand...they have ten thousand! Holy shi-"_

_"This is futon team 20, where the hell are the katon users? There's two dozen curse-sealed nin coming at us, and we need back-up!"_

_"We're fucking dying out her-GUH!"_

Squad 14 shivered at the words. More screaming sounded out from the radio. They didn't know what happened...but they all wanted to get the hell out of Oto.

_"This is the ANBU commander; I'm ordering a full retreat of all Alliance Forces. We didn't get the village; we got a curse-seal production facility! Their numbers vastly outweigh our own. Get the hell out of there!"_

"Son of a bitch..." Tenchi muttered, his boots clanging on the metal as he paced around.

"We gotta go." Doshi said, and his teammates nodded.

As they made to leave, another explosion rocked the building they were in, and one of the walls caved in. A series of yells rang throughout the once-dead silence of the room, and a squad of Oto-nin rushed in, backed by a burly looking man with thick, brunette tresses that cascaded down his back.

Squad 14 went straight into combat, and began to dispatch the lower-ranked Oto-nin that had ambushed them. Tenchi had launched kunai after kunai at the approaching enemies, killing quite a few of them. When they drew near, he disarmed one of them, and in a combo of attacks, stabbed the man's chest, neck and face multiple times with a kunai, killing him.

He whipped around when he heard a growl, only to be pinned to one of the walls by the burly man; he turned out to be a curse-seal enhanced shinobi. His loose-fitting, grime-covered pants were held up by a Oto forehead protector in the style of a belt.

The demon-masked ANBU struggled to break free when the man's left hand transformed into a massive claw-like hand. The mutated limb slammed into Tenchi's head, and gripped it tightly.

"Tenchi!" Hana yelled in desperation as she fought off a couple of chuunin. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the monstrosity pull her teammate from the wall, and hold him in the air like a toy.

"Hear as she screams for you so passionately. From the way you're struggling to break free, I'm guessing her words have motivated you."

Indeed, Tenchi thrashed wildly in an effort to break free of the deadly hold the Oto-nin had on his skull. The claw pressed harder, squeezing his head violently.

"I'm going to crush your skull like a watermelon...then go have some fun with your bitch over there. She's got a nice ass, wouldn't you agree?"

Tearing a dagger from his utility pouch, he began to impale his assailant's arm violently, trying to alleviate some of the pressure the transformed appendage was applying to his head.

The Oto-nin only chuckled, and squeezed harder. Tenchi felt his mask crack under the force, and press against his face.

"It's no use, boy. Just give up. It'll all be over soon...for you, anyways." He sneered in a sick, lecherous tone; a tone that caused the ANBU to panic. He didn't want any harm to come to Hana.

It was something he desired more than anything else; her safety and well-being.

Desperation caused him to let go of the kunai, and dig into his holster for something else to use. The pressure was beginning to bring him unimaginable pain, but he focused on ripping an explosive tag from his weapon holder.

The Oto-nin's eyes widened when he saw what his victim took out, and his small, unmutated arm couldn't reach it in time.

Tenchi lit the tag, and slapped it onto his enemy's flesh. He braced himself for the explosion, crossing his arms across his chest in an X shape.

A few moments later, the weapon exploded, completely deafening and blinding all nearby. Tenchi felt his body get rocked by the blast, and the tearing of his cloak alerted him to his propulsion from the nin.

He flew into the wall, his head making a sickening crack on impact. His mind began to grow weak with the blow, and right before he lost consciousness, he faintly heard his name being called, followed by a series of even louder explosions.

* * *

Naruto bleakly opened his eyes. The lights above him flickered on and off, and explosions from outside rocked the building.

His head was killing him; it felt like a sack of bricks had slammed into it. He heard faint noises around the room, but he couldn't discern what they were.

He attempted to lean up, but fell onto his back once again when he arms gave out on him. Groaning silently, he lifted a hand to grip his head. Feeling a warm, sticky substance on his fingers, he lifted his hand away to see it covered in blood.

After a few more tries, he eventually got the strength to push himself up and lean on a pile of rubble behind him. His vision was still blurry, and he struggled to regain his senses.

The world spun rapidly, and he blinked over and over to try to reduce the distortion.

Eventually, he got his bearings straight, and he focused on the sounds that were coming from the room. He sounded like muffled grunting and whimpering.

He glanced around; the 'operations center' was completely caved in. He remembered a large explosion obliterating the right wall and most of the ceiling before he got knocked out.

The sounds finally caught his attention, and he snapped his head to the source. His stomach dropped when he saw his female teammate getting groped by the Oto-nin who had attacked him earlier. He saw that her right leg was a bent at an awkward angle, but he couldn't judge the damage now. _Where the hell are Doshi and Tenzo?_

Pushing himself up, he grabbed his sword off of the ground and stumbled towards his teammate. His mind was still in a haze, and his body felt weak. He saw his shattered mask on the ground; it was irreparable.

He could finally discern what they were saying, and it made him feel sick to his stomach.

"C'mon. Just a little taste, Red."

"G-get the hell off of me!" Hana yelled desperately, oblivious to her approaching teammate.

"I'm going to give you what you want. Just _relax_." He said, grinning evilly as he made to pull off her armored vest. His slimey hands got a hold of the straps, and were about to undo them, when his head was jerked back.

Hana watched as a sword was forced through her assailant's chest.

"Don't fucking touch her." Naruto sneered, twisting the blade as much as he could to cause even more damage.

Hana recognized her savior's voice as Tenchi's, but she couldn't see his form at all. Blood leaked onto her torso, and all she could do was stare at the face of the man who had pinned her down.

"Heh...g-go to hell." The Oto-nin said, glancing back to glare at the ANBU that impaled him. The man's eyes slightly widened when he saw the unmasked face of the man he had almost killed before.

"Save a spot for me when you get there."

"I'm afraid you'll be doing that." The man said, before the ever-familiar Curse-Seal on his shoulder activated, transforming his body into a deformed, borderline monster.

Naruto had to leap back when the Oto-nin turned around. The man pulled Naruto's sword from his back, and with little effort, snapped the blade in half, rendering it useless. The two pieces of the weapon clattered on the floor when the Oto-nin dropped it. It was then Hana got a good look at her teammate's identity, and she could have sworn her heart stopped.

It was him. Her old teammate. Her old best-friend. Her most precious person. The man she wanted to be worthy of. The man she loved.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Her eyes scanned over his features, soaking in his appearance. His hair was matted with blood and sweat; a thick veil of stubble covered most of his face. His eyes reflected only impassiveness and a desire to kill.

She couldn't believe it. Her green eyes were wide with many emotions; sadness, happiness, longing, fright, worry...but most of all, confusion.

It was impossible. She had her suspicions, sure, but she never _actually _expected Tenchi, the man she had come to know as one of the most ruthless and unfeeling individuals she'd ever met, to be Naruto. But there he was.

She didn't know what to think.

His cloak was in tatters; a sleeve was ripped off, and most of the lower half was missing. Both of his forearm guards were scorched and battered from the explosion he set off.

"After I finish tearing you apart, limb for limb, I'm going to fuck your girl over there. She's going to beg; beg for me to stop. But neither of you will get any mercy."

Naruto slipped a hand down into his holster, and his stomach plummeted when he didn't feel any weapons inside. _Fuck._

He quickly dropped into a hand-to-hand combat stance, and prepared to take the mutated shinobi down. He would protect Hana. At all costs.

His blue eyes flickered over to her prone form, and he could see her staring at him intently. She almost seemed...shocked, if her trembling hands were anything to judge by.

His attention was once again directed to the Oto-nin when he began to charge at him. The blonde ducked under a swing of one of the man's giant claws, and attempted to sweep his legs out from under him.

The curse-sealed soldier jumped over Naruto's leg, and made to slam his foot into it. The blonde snapped his limb away, and flipped back onto his feet.

Hana couldn't say anything; she couldn't do anything. Once more, the familiar feeling of uselessness and regret filled her. Her longtime teammate was there, fighting to the death with a man so dangerous, so sadistic he could make even the most battle-worn shinobi cringe. And she couldn't help him.

The blonde dodged another massive strike the Oto-nin threw at him, and using all of his strength, tackled the monster into the wall. It created a large crack in the concrete, and the brunette growled, more of his tainted, almost demonic chakra invaded his senses.

Naruto exerted as much chakra as he could to hold his opponent on the wall as his foot attempted to slip under the hilt of a kunai that was lying on the floor.

He hooked the top of his boot on the underside of the weapon, and quickly flipped it up. He caught it in his right hand, and violently stabbed the Oto-nin in the heart.

The blonde's eyes widened when the man didn't even flinch. He only chuckled darkly.

"You don't know...do you...? I'm part of Oto's new prototype curse-seal regiment. You can't kill me!"

Naruto pulled the blade out, before stabbing it in again. He got no response, aside from the struggle of the man trying to get free. Desperately, Naruto began to repeatedly stab his enemy as much as he could.

The redheaded female ANBU desperately tried to heal her leg. Her radio was destroyed, so she couldn't even try to call for help.

The dull light above the three shinobi flickered slightly as the two men continued to battle.

"Why...won't...you...fucking...die!" The blonde ANBU yelled in between stabs. He tried to hit every vital organ he could, but to no avail. He simply wouldn't succumb to his wounds. The curse-seal was keeping him alive, and was healing his wounds almost as fast as the Kyuubi's chakra healed the blonde. Blood was beginning to pool on the floor; it was almost black in color, thanks to the drugs that were in the man's system.

It seemed he had finally had enough, because the Oto-nin pushed Naruto back and slammed a shoulder into him. One of the spikes on the man's arm sliced into the blonde's side as he was thrown to the floor.

Naruto gasped in pain and stared at the ceiling as he tried to regain his breath. He could already feel himself losing a lot of blood, but he wouldn't give up.

He couldn't give up.

Naruto could tell Hana was at her limits. Her already depleted chakra reserves were almost completely empty, and she collapsed on her back.

The Oto-nin approached Naruto, intended on ending his life. The blonde took in his opponent's appearance; his left arm wasn't mutated, but was completely mutilated from the elbow down, thanks to the exploding tag he planted on him.

He needed to use that to his advantage, and somehow remove the man's head; something he had come to know as one of the few ways he could stop a shinobi like this.

The curse-sealed monstrosity transformed his working arm into a giant spike, and made to impale the ANBU below him.

Naruto rolled out of the way, and using the opportunity, swept the man's legs out from under him.

"Naruto!" He heard Hana call. It slightly shocked him when she used his real name and not his codename, but looked at her.

She slid a small injection vial filled with a purple, viscous liquid over to him across the floor, and his hand snatched it up. He stood up, flipping away from the Oto-nin, and glanced at the container his teammate gave him.

He recognized it as one of her own custom-made poisons; it was designed specifically for assassination and interrogation work. It worked by numbing the body's senses quickly and efficiently, followed by cutting the flow of the victim's chakra completely.

He gave a small thanks to the woman, and charged once more at the Oto-nin, who did the same. The two collided in a vicious hand-to-hand combat battle, neither showing any signs of weakening.

Naruto found an opening when his enemy attempted to claw out his intestines, and he stabbed the vial into the man, pouring his teammate's poison into his bloodstream. The blonde quickly backed up.

His heart was pumping fast, and his breathing was rapid. He had to fight down a smile; for one reason or another, he loved situations like these. Life or death situations, where the only things he has are his combat techniques and his killing instinct.

The two engaged once more, and Naruto could tell the drugs were starting to wear thin, being replaced by Hana's lethal injection. A fist connected with the Oto-nin's face, followed by a round-house kick to the side and an elbow to the temple.

When he finally got the Oto-nin onto the ground, Naruto was so caught up with the adrenaline and fear running through his system that he wanted to completely destroy the man lying at his feet.

The Oto-nin made to get up, but Naruto slammed his foot into his face. The man finally screamed in pain, one of his eyes being impaled by a cleat on the blonde's boot.

The poison began to finally affect the man's nervous system, and his body slumped to the floor, his muscles unable to react.

Naruto lifted his foot, and began to curb-stomp the man's face. A loud squelching sound rang throughout the room with each slam of his foot alongside the man's muffled screaming, and blood began to pool underneath the Oto-nin's head. Curses began to pour out of the blonde's mouth as he continued to mutilate his enemy's face.

"You mother...FUCKER!" Naruto yelled as his final stomp broke the man's nose and jaw. He twitched in a disgusting fashion, his body barely holding onto life.

The blonde knelt, still panting after his ruthless onslaught on the man below him. He needed to finish him off.

He looked around for something to take care of the shinobi, and saw a small hand-axe attached to his victim's belt. He wrenched it free, and looked at the bloodied and disfigured face of the Oto-nin.

"W-wai-t...p-plea-se..."

Naruto smirked, and raised the axe in the air, before swinging down and messily removing the man's head.

Leaving the weapon embedded in the flesh and blood, he shakily stood up. He bent over, gripping his knees as he struggled to regain his breath. He paid no mind to the horror stricken kunoichi not too far away from him.

After finally calming himself down, he snapped back to reality, and shuffled over to Hana.

"Are you okay? He didn't...do anything to you, did he?" The blonde asked, kneeling down and scanning over her body for any wounds. She shook her head, her breath hitching at the closeness between the two.

"M-my legs broken..." She whispered, and he nodded. He placed his hands on the limb gently, but she winced and hissed in pain anyways. He scanned it with his chakra, and exhaled when he felt how damaged it was.

"I won't b-be able to walk." She said, propping herself up on her elbow. Her leg was broken below the knee, about midway down her calf. Naruto gathered a piece of wood from one of the piles of rubble strewn around the destroyed room, and with Hana's help, he made a make-shift splint.

She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out when Naruto applied the splint to her leg. Once it was secured, she could finally think about the most important thing presented to her.

Naruto.

There was no denying it. Here he was; in the flesh. She almost felt disgusted with him, but she couldn't blame him for how violent he was with the now-dead soldier.

"Thanks..." He nodded in response, and picked up the hilt of his sword. He frowned at the pieces that had landed near Hana. Though it was strange to admit, he had grown attached to his weapon. It was something that had helped him survive; helped him live throughout the years.

Another series of explosions sounded from outside, and the screams and vicious roars from the released curse-sealed shinobi filled the air.

"We need to go...I can't take any more of those guys. I'm low on chakra, and you're pretty much out."

"Where are Doshi-taichou and Tenzo?"

"I don't know. They were probably forced to leave when the commander called for the retreat.

"You'll have to carry me."

He nodded once again, and carefully wrapped his arms around her back and legs. She was somewhat shocked at his gentleness with her, but put those thoughts away.

She unconsciously snuggled into his warmth. Violent killer be damned, she had missed Naruto. She missed him so _much _that she wanted to cry, being in his presence again. There would be time for questions, answers and worrying later.

He felt her fall asleep in his arms, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. Hana was safe.

That was all that mattered now.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will have more of Sakura's inner thoughts/decisions.

Review plox. They make me happy. :)


	17. Compromised

A/N: Okay. Sorry for being late as FUCK. School just slapped me in the face the past couple of weeks, and I really had to nail down this chapter.

ALSO, a special note: I've been getting reviews/PMs over the case of the timeline of this story, so I decided to sort of explain it. Right now; it's been eight months since Sakura joined Squad 14. ...That's all.

Thanks to SuaveJiraiya for helping me figure out the timeline, and FicsRLulz for betaing this. :D

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 17 - Compromised  
**_

* * *

It had been three days; three long, grueling, exhausting days.

The blonde rushed through the trees as fast as he could; it had been three days of constant running, hiding and more running. He was beyond tired; his legs were on fire, and his lungs ached with every breath he took.

It was a messy process, escaping from the facility. He had create a few clones to hold off or kill some of the enemies that had pursued them, but carrying Hana out of the ruined building and village, while simultaneously dodging and evading curse-sealed nin was borderline impossible.

Fortunately, he slipped out of one of the demolished gates that lined the village, and ran into the forest. _Unfortunately_, the Oto-nin had followed him. For two days, he ran and hid, desperately trying to conserve and recover his energy.

The day before Hana awoke, he had finally mustered up enough chakra to make a diversion, and to make his final escape from his pursuers. It had worked flawlessly; the various Oto squads had taken the bait, and were now probably still chasing the few clones he had left, running around the forestry.

His radio was damaged beyond repair, and every second he could spare to think, he cursed himself for forgetting about signing the messenger-hawk summoning contract. The only thing he could do was pray he was heading the right way; the way _out _of Oto.

Hana was significantly slowing him down, especially with him having to support her body completely as he carried her through the forest. She was still unconscious from their battle against the prototype monster that had attacked them.

He was slightly worried, but all of her vitals checked out, except for her chakra; when they left the war zone, her reserves were a sliver away from being completely depleted. Now they were at about half of what they usually were.

He hopped off a tree branch, and landed in a thick cluster of trees and bushes next to a small meadow that was nearby. His back hit the tree, and he slumped down while he struggled to regain his breath.

He carefully slid Hana off of his lap, leaning her on the tree. He quickly checked her vitals, making sure she was still in good condition.

After reaffirming her condition, and after being relieved to find she was _relatively _healthy, apart from her pseudo-coma, he popped open his canteen and swallowed as much water as he could, before leaning over and lifting the rim to his teammate's lips under her mask.

She unconsciously swallowed the cold liquid, which he was thankful for.

Sighing in relief, he allowed himself a few minutes of relaxation. His mind caught up with the events of the past few days.

His identity was revealed; he imagined that Hana was quite shocked to know he was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Whoever she was, she definitely knew him by name, which wasn't really a surprise to him. Not that he was narcissistic, but the Fourth Shinobi World War and the role he played in it _was _a pretty big deal.

Glancing over, his curiosity was growing as he stared at her sleeping form. He still wished to know who she was; who it was he now had feelings for. Just one peek; just to see who exactly Hana was.

He reached over, and his fingers grasped the bottom of her mask. Exhaling his nervousness, he lifted it gingerly, almost carefully. He caught sight of her pale, angular chin and jawline, followed by her pink and...very kissable lips.

As he got to her nose, he noticed that she was faintly familiar; he felt as though he knew her from somewhere, but he couldn't figure it out. She certainly wasn't Karin. He also noticed that his suspicions from a few weeks ago were true; she _was _beautiful under her mask.

He felt a strange longing fill his mind; her skin looked so soft...so incredibly fragile for an ANBU shinobi. He stopped his pulling of her mask, and his fingertips lightly grazed across her cheek. Sure enough, it was almost _too _soft. Almost like silk. And he found himself enjoying it...though he did feel incredibly creepy and almost guilty because of what he was doing. Shaking that thought from his head, he continued with what he was doing before.

Right before he revealed her full face, a twig snapped, and a chorus of voices filled the clearing near him. He quickly pushed her mask down, promising himself to check later, and held his breath. Leaning his head out from behind the tree, his heart rate picked up when he saw a squad of Oto special ops walk into the area. They glanced around the area, their weapons at the ready.

He leaned back, and glanced at Hana. He quickly pulled her towards him to hide her from view, and prepared for another battle. _Okay. I have no weapons, I'm about to pass out, and I have little chakra to spare. This is no problem._

* * *

When Hana awoke, she didn't know where she was. She breathed in the scent of damp grass, soggy moss and wood...and blood.

Confusion settled in when she opened her eyes and realized she was in a forest; far away from the Oto base she had passed out in.

Her mouth opened in shock when she remembered. Naruto was Tenchi. She remembered how the blonde viciously took down the man who was about to violate her in ways she couldn't even describe.

But it couldn't be; it must have been a dream. _Her _Naruto didn't kill. He loved.

She was roused from her musings when she finally heard it; the telltale sounds of a violent battle taking place.

She muffled a scream when a chakra-laced sword sliced straight through the bark of the tree she was propped up against. She looked up, and it was dripping blood; someone had been impaled upon it.

She prayed that it was an enemy's blood that was falling onto her cloak.

Whoever it was, they left the sword embedded in the tree, and the sounds of death and violence continued. She wondered where Tenchi was; if he was alive, or if he was dead.

Her heartrate picked up when she saw an Oto spec-ops crawl into the thicket she was currently hiding in. If he knew she was there, he clearly didn't care, as his entrails were dragging behind him as he desperately tried to get away from his attacker.

Hana's stomach plummeted when a distinctly familiar blonde ANBU limped into the brush, and caved the Oto-nin's head in with his boot.

As he turned his gaze to her, she felt her lips go dry. It wasn't a dream; Naruto _was _Tenchi.

Evidently, he was the one who had killed whoever was impaled onto the tree. He was dripping with blood; his face and armor were splattered with the liquid, and a kunai hung from his index finger, tiny crimson droplets mixing with the dirt and dampness as they fell.

This wasn't how she pictured their reunion. He stumbled over to her, and she flinched at his closeness, but he didn't notice. His back hit the bark, and he slid down, the kunai that was wrapped around his finger hitting the earth with a dull thud.

Naruto was panting heavily. That battle took most of his remaining strength; he was impossibly tired. Desperately, he reached into his loose and almost-empty supply pouch, took out a small canister, popped it open and ate his last remaining soldier pill. He felt a sliver of his chakra return, and a bit of his drowsiness leave him.

Glancing over, he noticed Hana's green eyes were staring at him intently, though he couldn't read the emotion she was giving off. "You alright?"

She nodded once, but didn't take her eyes off of him. She now understood why she was chosen for this mission; why she was put on the same squad as her old team. This was _Naruto_; the next Hokage. Someone who was dear to everyone in Konoha...especially her.

But this wasn't the Naruto she knew. Every day she trained to be an ANBU, or went on missions, or slept, she dreamed of when she would be with Naruto again. She longed for him; everything that made her love him and more.

His smile, his laugh, his goofy antics, his loud brashness; she missed him.

But the man sitting next to her had none of that. His blank, dull eyes only had a consuming desire to kill and cause chaos. His expression was blank and unfeeling, and the only resemblance he had to the blonde baka she loved was his looks.

He suddenly stood, and scooped her up into his arms. She tensed considerably, her eyes wide and her heart hammering in her chest. Seeing him again, being this close to him; she didn't know if she was extremely happy...or utterly devastated, seeing what he had become.

"There's a cave up above that ridge nearby; we'll need some shelter." He said, gesturing with his eyes to the sky. She looked up, and sure enough, there were the dark, looming clouds of a thunderstorm rolling overhead.

"L-let's go." she said quietly, and he leaped into the trees.

* * *

They got there within a half-hour's time. The cave was slightly damp, cold and musky, but it would do. Naruto set his teammate down carefully, letting her down onto a blanket he had placed. She propped herself up against the wall while he ran through a multitude of hand-seals and traps to protect them for the night.

She watched as he made a small fire pit and lit it up with a Katon jutsu, before sitting down to stare at the flickering flames. He didn't bother to clean the blood off his face, so as the light of the fire illuminated the cave, his face was cast in a menacing, crimson splattered glow.

He was so different, so _changed _from the boy she once knew.

He noticed her gaze, and narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

"Uh..nothing..." She said, before she carefully pulled up the pant leg on her damaged limb, and began the slow, gruesome process of repairing bone structure.

He kept a stern look on her for a few more moments. She was acting awkward and almost...shy. Traits he'd never associated with her, in all their time of working together. The soldier pill was beginning to wear off, and the drowsiness he had fought off for three days hit him like a brick to the face.

The air was thick with tension. As she used her chakra to mend the flesh of her leg, she kept flicking her eyes over to her old blonde teammate. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him; she wanted to talk to him _so much_, it was killing her inside. She longed to be with him as herself, not hidden under a mask and the moniker of Hana. She didn't want to be anonymous anymore.

But her shishou's words rang clear within her head. _Your job, alongside fighting with your team and healing them, is to try to get close to your teammate. If you can, get him to open up, and help him with his...issues. He's undergone some severe trauma, and I don't have the manpower to replace his value in this war. This is extremely important; also, under no circumstances are you to reveal your identity to him. It may cause some...difficulties._

She knew she couldn't. Whatever it was that drove Naruto to the ANBU Black Ops, she was the cause of it. Guilt plagued her once again. The idea that _she _caused him to become what he was...

She shook her head slightly. Thoughts like that were meaningless.

Her eight months of being on Squad 14, and her extensive background personality and mental analysis on him, allowed her to come up with a refined diagnosis for his emotional status.

Every symptom she came up with was a direct contradiction of who she knew Naruto was. He was extremely sociopathic, had no qualms against killing people, and his sadistic tendencies were prominent almost every time they ran into an enemy.

She was disgusted by what he had _become_. This Naruto was the antithesis of _her _Naruto. Her Naruto loved ramen, walking around, training and _her_. He was happy, bubbly, social, courageous, inspiring and everything _she_ loved.

_This_ Naruto loved killing. Period. She lost track of his kill-count; it was definitely somewhere over the four hundreds now.

She soaked in his appearance close up; his face had matured considerably. He was far from the once-semi-cheerful 18-year old she last saw him as. A thin layer of dirt, sweat and blood was layered on most of his face.

The most different feature was his eyes. No longer did they hold the mischievous glint or happy sparkle they once showed.

But, she still had a job to do. And now it seemed more important than ever.

She ran through a few handseals and amplified her healing. She winced as she scanned for the fragments of the bone, and drew them close to the parts that were broken.

She worked through carefully rebuilding the structure, and frowned when it began to fit back together. Her chakra worked tirelessly to heal her leg, and she noticed Naruto was now looking at her actions intently.

"It'll take a bit of work, but it should be rebuilt in the next couple of days." She said, and he nodded, his eyes drooping as he fought to stay awake.

"H-how long have you been awake?" She questioned, absently chewing her bottom lip as she awaited his answer. His darkened eyes looked up, and he sighed.

"Three days."

She didn't know what to say to him. He was so..._fucked up _now that she knew who exactly it was behind the demon mask.

But she could see it; the old Naruto. She _knew _he was in there, hidden behind the wall of indifference and desire to shed blood. The irony was blissful; she inadvertently caused his psychological breakdown, and now it was her task to help him with it. It seemed impossible.

How could she even think of doing that? If she tried, she would only end up doing more damage, like she always did. He was fine now; a little on the vicious side, but he wasn't insane or anything.

Those thoughts were squashed by logic. When they first met, Naruto almost killed a civilian girl for no reason. She _knew _she had to do something.

As she gazed at him, a strong feeling of determination filled her mind. It was no longer about her _needing _to fix him and help him. Now, she _wanted _to heal his mind. He was Naruto, the epitome of happiness and sunshine. She desired him more than anything else.

"Get some rest." She ordered, but he was already asleep.

* * *

After waking up, leaving some clones to guard the sleeping form of Hana, and making sure she had enough food and water to last a few hours, Naruto left their humble, make-shift abode to venture back to the dead spec ops soldiers he took care of the day before.

As he jumped gracefully through the trees and landed in the middle of the clearing that the battle took place, his mind ventured towards his red-haired teammate. Her behavior, both when he rescued her from the curse-sealed nin and ever since she woke up, was confusing him.

She was _awkward_. He brushed it off at first, but it was really starting to get to him. He didn't know what he did to cause her to be so anti-social and weird about him, but he didn't like it.

Did he do something wrong?

Kneeling down next to one of the slowly decaying corpses, he didn't know. He scavenged the body for everything he could find; food rations, water, tools. His thoughts went through everything he had done.

Did she finally get sick of his tendency to kill? Possibly. He picked up a weathered and low-grade katana, running his hand along the blade. It was rough to the touch, and the sharp side was barbed and dull. It would do.

Strapping the weapon to his back using the scabbard that came with it, and a piece of heavy-strength rope he had in his tool pouch, he wondered if Hana was now disgusted with him.

After all, he _did _curb stomp and decapitate someone. Someone who would have raped her had he not been fast enough...

Shaking that thought from his head, he frowned as he moved to the next body. They had spent eight months together; he had done far worse in her presence than simply killing someone. Far worse.

Maybe it was just her reaction to seeing the hero of the war as a violent, emotionless ANBU.

But that still wouldn't make her stutter and flinch in his presence. Having feelings for someone makes you observant of their every action, and Naruto noticed Hana was acting like some blubbering, frightened school girl, not the hard-ass, no-bullshit ANBU kunoichi he had come to know. It somewhat reminded him of how Hinata used to be before they became friends.

Did she have feelings for him?

He stilled.

The thought was ludicrous. Of course she wouldn't like him like _that_. How could she? How could _anyone_? He was well aware of how abnormal and secluded he had become from what he once was. With that came an unnerving and cringe-worthy truth.

Hana would never return his feelings. But, perhaps one day...one day she would.

A wistful exhale escaped his lips as the once-familiar pang of unrequited love hit him. He knew that it would never happen. Maybe he was cursed, forever to never know what it would be like to be in a loving, healthy relationship.

He was cut off from his musings by a strange feeling that invaded his senses. He felt...watched. Observed, scrutinized.

His eyes widened and his body tensed when he heard _whispers_. They had no discernible direction or meaning, they were just _whispers_.

Naruto stood, unsheathing his blade from his back, and glanced around the empty, uninhabited clearing. No one was around. A feeling of extreme uneasiness filled him.

The whispers continued, gradually growing in volume. He scanned with his chakra to see if he was caught in an enemy genjutsu, but he felt nothing other than the cool wind in his hair and the looming presence of being observed.

_Think, Naruto, Think! This has to be a genjutsu.._

_"You couldn't save us..."  
_

His eyes widened, and he looked frantically around the clearing. _What the hell?_

He thought he heard a twig snap, and he reeled around to face the forest. In the deep, green expanse, he saw nothing but trees and shubbery.

The whispers grew louder, now coming from behind him, and he whipped his body to see what it was.

His heart skipped a beat, and he felt a feeling of dread when he saw two figures standing in the middle of the clearing. His grip on his sword tightened.

The two figures were completely naked, and were embraced together in an almost desperate and loving way. Naruto cautiously approached them, his breathing becoming ragged.

Their hair colors made him freeze. Pink and onyx locks cascaded down their shoulders, framing their faces and hiding them from view.

His boots crunched in the dirt and mud as he slowly, carefully approached them. _This can't be real...what...the fuck...?_

He approached who he identified as Sasuke and Sakura cautiously. He didn't know what he was seeing, or why, but it was scaring him. He hadn't felt fear in a _long _time.

They suddenly turned to him, and he forced himself not to gag when their faces and bodies morphed into grotesque gore. Sakura's left eye was ripped out, and her jaw was dislocated. Her entrails hung from a deep, open cut in her stomach. Sasuke's neck was slit, and half of his face was torn apart.

_"Why couldn't you save us, Naruto?"_

_"Why...dobe?"_

"What the fuck? This isn't real..." The blonde whispered in fear and shock.

_"I never loved you._ _Who would? You were always annoying...always pestering me."_

_"I thought we were brothers, Naruto. That's what you said, isn't it? Don't you care that I died? That we died?"_

His eyes narrowed; their gazes were impassive. Empty. Cold. These weren't his ex-teammates...they couldn't be...

Sakura walked forward gracefully, as if her wounds weren't affecting her at all. Naruto found himself rooted to the spot as she raised a hand and rested it on his cheek.

_"Who was I to you? Your friend? Your comrade? The girl you loved? Why didn't you save him? Why didn't you keep your promise? Why did you...let me die?"_

This was single-handedly the most horrific thing he'd ever experienced. Her broken and dismantled jaw moved as words, clear as crystal, flowed from her lips. Accusations and threats pounded into his ears from this...visage of Sakura.

"You're not dead..." He whispered. She wasn't. He knew that.

_"You knew how much Sasuke-kun meant to me. You killed me inside when you let him die...when you laughed at his demise. Was it the jealousy? Is that why? Or perhaps you still longed for me...after I used you the way I wanted to."  
_

A lopsided, demented grin adorned her face, and he found himself shivering in horror.

"Shut the fuck up. You're not real!"

_"We're as real as you are, dobe."_

_"Join us. Make Team 7 whole again, Naruto!" _Sakura screamed, raising a kunai and stabbing with it towards his neck.

He caught her hands, and his eyes widened in disgust and horror when her skin began to peel off with the friction. The blood caused his grip to slip, but he tightened his hold on her arms, even as she pushed him to the ground.

Whispers and chanting filled his ears as he struggled against the decaying form of the woman he once loved. Words of scorn, of hatred, of guilt and loneliness ran through his brain. The blade was an inch from his throat when the noise grew louder.

His eyes squeezed shut, and in that instant, the endless chanting stopped. He opened his eyes, and found that Sakura and Sasuke were gone.

It was a hallucination. It wasn't real.

He felt his skin crawl and his gut twinge in horror when he realized he was about to stab _himself _with a kunai. It was a centimeter away from piercing the skin of his neck.

_What the fuck..._ He thought repeatedly. He'd had this kind of mirage before; dark shadows, flashes of pink. But never...never anything like what he just went through.

Pulling himself up, he landed on his hands and knees. He was so _scared _of what he just witnessed. He found the hallucinations words hurting...stinging his heart, reopening old wounds and memories.

He was terrified. Of himself, of his own god damned _mind_. He was now compromised; he was no longer just a danger to the enemy, and potentially himself. He was now a liability to allies, and to his mission.

Had Hana been there during his little episode...a shudder ran down his spine at the thought.

He needed to speak with her; he needed to open up and get _help_. His shield of indifference and apathy was caving in on him, and he was beginning to feel the psychological effects of all the shit he's faced the past three, almost four, years. He was no longer fit to carry out the operations an ANBU ninja was supposed to do.

He vaguely remembered his black ops training, and the psychological conditioning course he took. They had talked about how extreme PTSD can lead to nightmares, involuntary flashbacks and hallucinations. Ghosts of the past, the instructor had said. He had said any ANBU agent dealing with these common mental issues would become 'compromised'; they were no longer key assets to their team, and to the village. They were no longer fit for active duty. Something Naruto never thought would happen to him.

He loved his job...and as a result of it, his own mind was betraying him. Just like everything and everyone else.

Psychological trauma in the field has many consequences, that could range from anything, depending on the severity of the issues. They could be squad replacement, position change, suspension from the Black Ops forces, removal from the shinobi rosters...or placement in a psych ward for extreme cases.

A choked, muffled noise escaped his lips. He could deal with violence...with death. But this was too much. He thought he was over his two teammates; he had thought that they mean nothing to him anymore, that they wouldn't be able to cause him anymore pain. Especially that one of them was dead.

He screamed, his voice echoing throughout the clearing. Tears were in his eyes for the first time in years, but they never fell. He just screamed; in agony, in fear, in torture. His captain had once said that bottling up emotions and feelings was a bad thing, and it could blow up in your face.

He was right on target with that one.

After screaming for a time he didn't know, and doing his best to force that particular chaos out of his mind, he quickly tried to pull himself together. He got to his feet, though his whole body was trembling with pure psychological torment. He shakily regathered all of his supplies and tools, and quickly got away from that clearing.

He was all too happy to leave.

* * *

Hana looked up, somewhat startled, when she heard the telltale footsteps of her teammate.

"Hey, Naruto-holy hell, what happened?" She questioned immediately, her eyes wide at the expression on his face. He looked frightened; almost terrified. An expression she never thought she would ever see.

He wordlessly dropped the back of supplies down and slumped down the rocky surface of the cave wall. It was all catching up with him; his ex-teammates gruesome appearances, the way they hated him and brought back the distantly-familiar feeling of loneliness and betrayal...the unnerving horror of seeing them again _like that_.

Hana called his name once again, but she got no response. Worried, and somewhat fearful of whatever made him look so scared, she shuffled over. He didn't react to the closeness, nor the touch of her hand on his. She noticed his hands were shaking uncontrollably, and she gripped one of his tighter.

"Naruto...Naruto..." She called to him. Eventually, his eyes widened, and he looking to his right to stare into the darkened emerald eyes of Hana.

"What's wrong? What happened? Are you okay-"

"I t-think I'm going insane." He interrupted, cutting her off from her endless worries. His eyes were wide in terror, but he swallowed back his nervousness.

She froze, and her eyes widened. "What?"

"I'm not stupid, you know. I know why you've been put on this team." He tried to say, but it came out in a whisper.

Her stomach clinched at the words, but she let him continue. _Does he know who I am?_

"The captain was always worried about my mental health..always asking me questions, like you. You're here to help with my...issues...right?" He said, and he could see her eyes widen in awe.

"Don't look so shocked. I _know _how fucked I am. Hell, I just hallucinated my two old teammates were with me!" He yelled, the stress of everything piling on top of him. He needed to get it...get _everything _off of his chest. He'd kept too much bottled up; too much deep inside of himself.

Her jaw slacked, and her heart thumped in her chest. _He...hallucinated...?_

Things were far worse than she had first discovered. Sociopathy was one thing...sadistic tendencies were another...but dementia was far worse than all of them.

Not knowing how to proceed, and scared out of her wits for both her own safety and his, she decided to start with the question she had asked him consistently throughout their whole time together.

"Want to...talk about it...?"

And he replied, giving her the answer she thought she'd never receive; especially now that she knew it was _Naruto_.

"I think...there's a lot I have to tell you...a lot I need to finally get off my chest." He replied. He desperately needed her help. Before, he held off on telling her anything for many reasons, one of them was the concealment of his identity. But that didn't matter anymore; nothing did.

It was time to tell her about himself.

* * *

A/N: Eh, it was a messy chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed! Once again, sorry about the wait. The next chapter won't take too long...I hope. Haha.

Review please! :)


	18. Healing

A/N: I need to stop procrastinating. Sorry for the lateness, once again. Exams were this week, so it was tough to get some writing down.

I apologize in advance for the shittiness of this chapter. Writers block, in combination with figuring out the next couple of chapters/the rest of the plot gave me hell. Hopefully it's not too horrible.

Oh, and holy fuck. 100,000 views. Honestly, thanks to everyone who continues to read this. It actually makes me immensely happy to know people are actually enjoying this story. So, thanks to everyone whose read, followed, reviewed and favorited my mess of a story. :)

Thanks to FicsRLulz for looking over this monstrosity.

Enjoy! D:

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 18 - Healing**_

* * *

Tsunade glared, _hard_, at whoever was knocking at her door. "Come in, already!" She yelled, her forehead ticking in agitation. She was immensely frustrated, ever since her complete flop of an operation went through.

More than half of the Alliance ANBU assigned to the operation were either dead or critically injured. Her best team was missing. The paperwork had piled up. And she was out of saké.

The door swung open, revealing two bloody, weathered and almost broken ANBU agents. They were lead by a low-ranking chuunin, who had a fearful expression on his face. "H-hokage-sama, these two arrived with a platoon of ANBU, b-but they wanted to speak to y-you personally." He said, his voice filled with confusion and worry.

"Leave, Lin. I can take it from here." The blonde said sternly when she recognized the soldiers, and after a quick bow, the chuunin left.

She interlocked her fingers, resting her forehead on them for a brief moment before looking up.

"Remove your masks." She ordered immediately.

They did, revealing the faces of Kakashi and Yamato. Tsunade grimaced instantly, a feeling of despair filling her.

"Where are they...?"

"We don't know. When the mission went haywire, we were ordered to evacuate...but we were led into a trap, and ambushed. Naruto was attacked by a curse-seal-nin, and Sakura was battling with us, but an explosion went off and we were separated." Kakashi said, his lone eye reflecting his worry and anger.

"I see...do you believe they're still alive?"

"Yes. If they weren't...I would have felt the Kyuubi's chakra expelling." Yamato said, slumping against the wall in exhaustion.

"I've already contacted the Raikage. This covert situation has costed the alliance enough. Talks are going down, and we're going to see if we can get permission to send the Hachibi in to take out Oto." She said, feeling the sense of wastefullness and idiocy that came with the mess of the war the Alliance had partaken in.

After the Fourth shinobi world war, a jinchuuriki's chakra was classified by the nations as a weapon of mass destruction. With the unity of the Alliance, and the lessened need for war and conflict, any use of a Bijuu needed the Alliance's unanimous permission. Otherwise, the jinchuuriki's home nation would become host to the world's wrath and legal assault.

"Are you pulling out all the troops, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, and the blonde nodded once.

"Bee-san will be able to take care of Oto. It should have been done this in the first place...but now, hopefully, the Alliance can see the dire need for direct action. I pray that Naruto and Sakura can make it out before the barrage begins." Tsunade said darkly. She had witnessed the power of the Bijuu-dama, and didn't want them anywhere near that kind of destructive power.

"Very well. Do...you want us to go in and find them?" Yamato asked warily. Tsunade shook her head, then looked out

"No. I'm sure wherever they are, they'll get home safely. You're dismissed. Go home, rest, and take a month off." She ordered, and they nodded in thanks, before they started the standard ANBU transportation jutsu.

"But..." Tsunade called before the finished the last of their handseals. "I'm just worried...what if Naruto finds out who she is?"

The two ANBU glanced at each other for a moment, then poofed out of the office. In truth, they didn't know the answer to that question, either. It was both frightening and unnerving to think of how the 'new' Naruto would react to spending eight months with the very person he tried to escape from.

* * *

Hana listened with rapt attention as Naruto began to explain...everything. Everything that he had gone through, he had felt, done, saw, heard..._everything_.

"Where should I start...?" He questioned his teammate, who had unsealed a pair of blankets and made the two comfortable with a couple of mugs of hot coffee she still had packed away. A storm brewed overhead, the thunder rumbling loudly. They had made a small campfire inside their little abode, and the atmosphere was...comfy.

She knew what she wanted to hear first, but she tried to level her voice to try to appease her anxiousness. "You said you...hallucinated your teammates. Let's start there."

He sighed. "Do you remember...near the end of the war, the two people that fought beside me against Madara?" He asked, knowing already that she was part of the Ninja Alliance that had come as reinforcements during the climax of the battle.

Hana nodded once, the pit of regret already forming in her mind once more.

"Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha..." Naruto said grimly, his hands tightening around her hand and his mug at the thought of the two. He didn't notice her flinch at his words.

"It all started with those two...mainly Sakura, though." He took a deep gulp of the hot beverage, relishing in the feel of the liquid scorching down his throat. It was a good distraction from the pain that was enveloping his mind.

Hana went to speak, but her voice failed. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "What happened?" She asked, praying he wouldn't notice her nervousness.

"Sakura...she...she was everything to me. Every moment of my miserable life, ever since I met her, was used to make her happy...for the most part, anyways. She hated me at first...always looking at Sasuke, talking about Sasuke..." His eyes held a distant pain in them, but he continued on. Hana could already feel the water rising; the pool of guilt she was teetering on the edge of falling into. His face was so inconceivably _sad _that it made her want to kill whoever did this to him.

"We had a good friendship. I was _fine _with it. Before the war, we were best friends. We laughed together, we went out together, we trained together...we were inseperable." He said, his voice husky. His eyes squeezed shut as nostalgia threatened to overwhelm him. God, did he miss those times. Throughout his years in ANBU, he forced himself to believe that he was over those days. Over team 7, over his life in Konoha. It couldn't be farther from the truth.

Everything was spilling out now. All of the buried emotions, the feelings, the dark thoughts of pain, anguish and jealousy. All of it was bubbling to the surface.

"B-but then?" Hana whispered, fearful of what was to come.

"Our..._friendship_, pretty much ended the day she decided to confess her love for me...among other things." He said bitterly. Her confession was still haunting him, still disturbing him, still confusing him. He didn't know why, but he didn't like it.

Not giving his teammate a chance to respond, he just continued pouring out his thoughts. "Sakura thought it would be a good idea to confess her love for me, in an effort to stop me from getting myself killed over a fucking _promise_. And she was correct, to an extent; I made a promise to her, years ago, that I, the boy who was crazy over her, would bring back Sasuke, the boy _she _was crazy over. What the _fuck _was _wrong _with me back then?" He asked rhetorically. His drink was finished, and he rubbed his forehead with his now-free hand. His face was scrunched up, and his eyes held only sadness and contempt.

"It sounds...like you were really in love with her..." Hana said, not knowing what else to say or do.

She wanted to embrace him. The look on his face was killing her inside. She wanted to be close to him, to hug him, to whisper words of apology, love and affection for him. She wanted _so bad _to help him with this personally, and to slap the shit out of the bitch who did this to the man she loved, but she couldn't. _She _was the one who did this to him. She caused him all of this pain, and this torture.

He chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah. I guess so. But, in the end, I was never good enough. She constantly used me, and never...never truly cared about me. I can still remember her face when I failed to bring Sasuke. She was so disappointed in me. With good reason, too...but...still. I can still see the lie written on her expression when she confessed her love for me. She did it just so she could kill the man she _truly _loved, to save him from the darkness. It was all bullshit..."

"Naruto, she probably did care about you...probably more than you would ever know." Hana tried to reason. She couldn't help but feel like crying.

"I thought so too. I thought, maybe, just maybe, she would look my way for once. Maybe all of my efforts, all of my _sacrifices _wouldn't go to waste. Hell, I was fine with the lie. She showed that my life actually meant something to her...somewhat. And then..." He trailed off, the next part of his story clenching his broken heart like a vice-grip, squeezing his chest.

"And then there was...the time after the war..." He choked out, his eyes lidded and half-open.

Naruto could see her out of the corner of his eye. Hana held his shaking hand in a firm grip, but _he could still see her_. Her hollowed out eyes, her naked blood covered form. _She _was muttering phrases to him. Phrases that would haunt him for years.

_"So, Naruto? Are you going to tell her how you fucked me? How you moaned my name, yet I screamed out Sasuke-kun's? Oh yes...Sasuke-kun!"  
_

His body tensed when he heard her words. _Just shut the fuck up! _He mentally screamed at the illusion, but she kept on moaning out Sasuke's name in an almost perfect imitation of how the real Sakura did, years ago. It hurt. It hurt so _fucking _much, that it made him want to throw up. He realized he never did get over everything that happened between him and his teammates. The aching in his chest was proof of him just burying his feelings and emotions under the immense wall of his indifference and his thirst for blood.

He promptly ignored the fake pinkette, who scowled and dissipated for the time being. He exhaled his relief, and continued the tragedy of his love life. "After we all beat Madara, and Sasuke escaped from the battlefield, I was taken to a medical tent. If you remember, my injuries were pretty bad. I gave...it my all to save everyone. To end the war that so many had died for." He whispered, and she nodded sadly.

"Sakura...she must have been really worried, I suppose. We ended up sleeping together...but it was far from good." He said. He released Hana's hand, and held his own to his head. His shoulders were shaking in grief. It all flooded back to him now.

Hana knew what happened. "If...if it's that bad, y-you don't have to talk about it. I'll understand." She said, both for his sake and her own. Her guilt was already heavy on her mind, and she didn't want to relive one of her life's greatest mistakes.

He shook his head. "No...I need to get it off my chest."

"It was great. It was everything I had dreamed of. Making love to the woman of my dreams...it was heaven on earth. But at the end...she called Sasuke's name. And that...that destroyed me." He said simply, and he heard her gasp. He understood her reaction; he had gotten it from Kakashi and Ino, as well. It was a little awkward, talking about his horror-story of a sex-life to Hana, but he knew she would understood. He had to vent his agony, his frustrations.

Little did he know, she gasped because it all slammed into her. She never knew that her actions that night would have lead to this...but it all made sense. She felt so fucking terrible, she wanted to throw herself into a platoon of Oto-nin, just to atone for what she had done. How could she have been so reckless? So inconsiderate?

She never regretted what they did that night. Not even when she had feelings for Sasuke, She could never think of anyone else she would have rather had her first time with.

"After that, our friendship was basically non-existent. A line was crossed, and...even though I tried, for the sake of my stubbornness and her happiness, to salvage our relationship, we never were quite the same."

She looked down at her lap, biting her lip to stop the sob that threatened to escape from her lips.

"Just to make everything worse...the two of them got married. Without any warning, without any consent from me...nothing. I think that's what pissed me off most. They didn't even bother to ask if I was okay with it..." He said grimly.

He suddenly laughed, not giving her a chance to respond. He looked into her eyes, false amusement and disdain reflected in his gaze. "And you know what? After all of that? Sasuke, that _fucking _bastard, gets himself killed. In Konoha. The place I spent years trying to get him back to."

"And now...after all of that shit, I have nothing. I'm so messed up in the head, I don't even think they'd let me be Hokage...I don't even think I _want _to be Hokage right now..." He said, utterly broken. Her eyes widened in despair. She didn't know...

It was consuming. Eating her out from the inside. Suffocating. She caused this. Her own idiotic feelings caused Naruto to become who he was. She broke his dreams, his spirit and his _life_. It was _all her fault_.

She found herself almost hyperventilating, but she hastily tried to cover it and calm herself down. No. She would fix this. She absolutely had to.

But the pang of regret filled her. She thought of everything they could have had, had she not fucked up so royally. They would have been together; Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan. Naruto would be Hokage right now, with her probably serving as his personal assistant or the head of the medical corps, where they would work together constantly, and be totally and completely _in love_.

"S-so...how do you f-feel now? About everything?" She had to ask, but she winced at her question. It sounded too personal...but then again, so did everything else they had just talked about.

He glanced outside at the darkened sky and forest, and the relentless downpour that was drenching the entire area. "I...guess relieved. It was nice to talk about it all...but it brought up some bad memories, clearly. God damnit...you must think I'm pretty fucked up now, don't you?" He asked grimly. He was incredibly awkward, explaining to the woman he now had feelings for about the girl he _once _had feelings for, and how much it killed him inside. _She probably thinks I'm some sappy, clingy psychopath now._

Mustering up all the confidence she could, she shook her head. "No, Naruto. Not to sound like some shrink, it took alot of courage to open up like that. I'm glad you did..." She finished softly. The guilt still chewed at her mind, but she tried to shove it past her. She needed to help him.

"I don't suppose your medical jutsu can heal a broken heart, can it?" He asked with disdain, though his voice held a sense of...relief in it. Perhaps things with Hana would be different. Perhaps she would accept him...and maybe, later on, in Konoha, she would return his feelings. It was a small sliver of hope, but what else did he have? He had nothing to lose. His sanity was broken, his heart crushed, his dreams shattered at his feet. All he could hope for...was some sort of happy ending at the end of this nightmare.

She simply shook her head. "So...all of those things that you went through with your teammates...is that why you enjoy killing?" She asked sadly. She would never be able to unsee the horrors of Tenchi's interogations, and now that she had a face to put to the name, it made it so much more grueling and terrifiyng. Especially given who exactly that name was.

With every word that spilled from Naruto, she allowed remorse to consume her. It was undeniable, now. She had caused this. She was the one that broke up Team 7, that destroyed Naruto, that probably killed Sasuke. It was all...her...fault. That thought repeated again and again in her head, her body becoming numb with the mental torment she was now bombarded with.

He shrugged. "That, and a combination of everything I've had to deal with since I've been born. Being the Kyuubi's vessel wasn't exactly the funnest thing in the world."

She nodded grimly when she hastily climbed back to her senses temporarily. Years ago, when she had found out Naruto was a jinchuuriki, she had remembered when she saw the villagers surrounded him and scorning him. She was only seven years old at the time, so she didn't understand why everyone, including her mother, hated the little cute blonde boy. Of course, once she joined the Academy, she never bother to remember that incident. She got caught up in her craze for Sasuke, and her 'dislike' for Naruto began.

"But hey, shit happens." He said when he could tell she was upset. He didn't know why, but the fact that she seemed to actually care about him made him...happy.

The pair talked for a few more minutes as the fire before them died down. It seemed almost awkward, but they both felt as if they had grown closer.

"Hey, Naruto, can I ask you something?" Hana questioned. She was scared of the answer she was about to receive...but she _had _to know.

"Hm?" He replied, his eyes drooping despite the coffee they just drank.

"After...after all of that...how do you feel about them? Sasuke and Sakura?" She asked. It was strange, talking about herself like _she _wasn't there, but she await his answer nervously.

He looked down, his brows furrowing. "They were once my most precious people. My best friend and the girl..." He trailed off, but didn't finish the sentence.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about them anymore. I tried to bury my...feelings...for them ever since I joined the black ops, but I guess my subconscious thought differently." He said, before glancing outside.

"I resent them for what they did to me. Sakura, mostly, but Sasuke betrayed my trust, as well. I...wish I was never put on that genin team. I believe I'm past that, but it still hurts...and I still hate it. Hate them."

Her mouth opened as she tried to process what he was saying. Years before, when Naruto had said he hated both of them, his words stung, but now, with everything from the realization of her feelings to being reunited with him again, his words _hurt__. _Tremendously.

"One of them is even dead, but I still can't get rid of the disdain I feel towards them...how fucked up is that?" He said, laughing humorlessly once again. She bit her lip, but said nothing. How could she? What gave her the right to say _anything_?

The conversation after that was slow when Naruto decided to change the topic to something a little less...dramatic, and eventually, the pair fell asleep at each other's side, each drowning in their own thoughts. Hana, in her guilt and regret, and Naruto, in his sadness and hope.

* * *

The days following their talk were relatively...nice for the two ANBU.

Hana's mind was plagued by guilt and horror, and she struggled with it every waking second, but she devoted that time solely with Naruto, instead of wallowing in her own guilt. What's done was done, and she needed to move forward. Unfortunately, those thoughts never lasted long.

This was Naruto. The epitome of sunshine, happiness, joyfulness and exuberance. He was _not _suppose to _not _smile. He _wasn't _supposed to love killing or causing pain, or to be quiet and secluded, or to never smile or laugh.

Taking her task of helping Naruto extremely seriously, she began to look deeper into his personality and recent behavior, trying to overcome her remorse with her duty. She discovered he had a psychological dependence for causing others pain and torment, in compensation for the lack of relief of his own.

Their days were spent talking, while Hana worked on healing her leg. They talked of home, of the war, of pretty much everything except for their personal lives, which both were thankful for in their own ways.

Naruto had figured out that they had made it to the border of Oto and the Land of Fire, or what _was _the border, so they were safe from enemy attacks for the time being.

"I think...I think my leg is almost healed."

His lips quirked upwards in a ghost of a smile, pausing in his sharpening of his sword. "That's good. Do you think you can walk?" He asked, strapping his blade to his back and kneeling down next to her. She moved some of her crimson hair out from under her mask, and nodded.

Giving her his hand, he helped her up off the ground. She stumbled slightly, her muscles stiff from disuse, but managed to walk to the end of the cave and back.

"You good?" He asked, and she nodded once again. "Yeah. It feels better. The bone is healed completely, but the muscle is still really weak and torn. You'll...erm...have to support me when we leave."

He sighed contently, and walked around their camp to pack up. He was somewhat excited to be returning to Konoha...but he didn't know what to expect, or what was waiting for him when he got there. Would he still be friends with the ones he had prior to his service in Oto? Would he be able to handle...being near _her _again?

His questioning was cut off when the ground shook slightly. "What the hell?" He asked, and the two walked out of the cave to see what was happening.

Their eyes widened when, far in the distance, massive, earth shattering explosions lit up the horizon. Naruto instantly recognized them as the after-blasts from a Bijuu-dama. _Why the hell is Bee here?_

Shaking his head, a slight panicked feeling on his mind, he looked at Hana. "We gotta move."

She understood instantly when the explosions began to draw closer to their abode. After packing up their gear and supplies, Hana slung her arm over her teammates shoulders, and the duo began their long, grueling and exhausting trip back to their home village.

* * *

Izumo and Kotetsu were bored.

Beyond bored.

It was late evening in Konoha, no one was venturing to or from the gates, and they still had a couple hours left of guard duty.

"Go-fish."

"Kotetsu, you idiot, we're playing blackjack." Izumo groaned, rubbing his tired eyes with his free hand.

"Fuck off. I can barely keep my eyes open. What did we ever do to Hokage-sama to deserve _three _weeks of guard duty?" The chuunin complained before guzzling down his cup of hot chocolate.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you thought it would be a good idea to try to sneak a peak at her while she was in the hot springs? And that somehow, I just _had _to come with you?" Izumo said grimly. His partner's fascination with the Hokage disturbed him greatly, and every day it was getting worse.

Suddenly two figures stumbled past the gates. The two chuunin immediately were on alert, and shone their flashlights on the duo.

Their eyes widened when they caught the dull, blue gaze of Naruto Uzumaki, who was panting harshly and supporting his red-haired ANBU comrade.

Shock, confusion, and plenty of what-the-fuck was evident on their expressions. The blonde merely sighed, barely beginning to catch his breath, before he hobbled over. The female soldier groaned in protest, but said nothing.

"N-n-naruto?" Izumo asked, his eyes wide.

A semblance of a smirk crossed the jinchuuriki's lips. "It's uh...been a while, hasn't it?" He said, his voice hollowed and dead. He bent slightly to add more support to Hana, whose once-healed leg was already causing her immense agony from all of the running they had just did. Both were exhausted, and completely worn out, both mentally and physically.

"What-I mean, who...wait...what?" Kotetsu asked.

"Just...don't make a ruckus. The Hokage will probably explain everything tomorrow." He said, before using his free hand to rummage around his utility pack. He pulled out his shinobi ID, and flashed it to them.

Their faces contorted with surprise even more when they saw that, indeed, the once-loud and idiotic Hokage wannabe had become an ANBU ninja.

"She's with me, as well. It's safe, but unfortunately, I'm about to pass out, so..." He trailed off.

"Naruto, you go to the Hokage and report in. We'll help...uhh...her to the hospital." They said, standing up and walking over to help Hana. Naruto let them support her, and spared her a simple glance that she caught.

He felt as though their bond was deeper than ever...but he also felt a pang of sadness. He probably wouldn't speak to her again, or at least not for a very long time. Giving her a small wave, which she returned timidly, he hurried to the Hokage's office, jumping up to and across the rooftops.

* * *

Tsunade found the damn sake. It seemed Shizune had taken to hiding portions of her stash in an effort to 'clean up her act'.

Pft.

Popping open a bottle, she took a quick sip. Sighing in relief as the alcohol burned her throat, she leaned over her mountain of paperwork, and began to fill out her mission files.

Before she could finish the first one, however, a frantic knocking came upon her door. She looked up, wondering if it was one of the teams she sent to the Land of Waves a few weeks prior. "Come in." She said gruffly, and the door swung open.

She immediately stood up, her eyes wide and her jaw slack. A blood-covered, disheveled, hellish-looking Naruto limped into her workspace. He was rubbing his sore shoulder, and looked up to match her hazel gaze.

"It's been a while, Hokage-sama."

"Brat...you look..."

"Like hell? Yeah. That's what happens when you spend four years slaughtering Oto-nin." He said darkly, reaching over without permission to grab one of her bottles of saké. He took the beverage, and sat down in one of the many chairs that adorned her office.

She winced at his snappy tone. He looked downright _terrible_. He was covered in dirt and blood, his face needed a shave desperately, his eyes were sunken in and bloodshot and his hair was almost dulled.

"I'm a bit pissed off, Hokage-sama." He started, popping open a bottle and taking a large gulp. He sighed when the liquid went down, and shot a glare at her. It chilled her to the bone.

"That...place. I could have used Kurama's chakra to take them down. Why, until now...?" He asked. Tsunade sighed.

"I couldn't get the Alliance to agree with letting you, in essence, nuke an entire nation with no viable proof that they were fully hostile. As you know, not only the Kages have to agree with it, but the Daimyos as well. I'm sorry." She said.

The blonde sannin was somewhat surprised to see him accept her answer. He nodded once, before leaning down and pinching the bridge of his nose. The past four years had been, quite literally, hell on earth. Every scream, every drop of blood, every dead civilian...it all echoed and bounced around his mind.

"I _really _need to kill somebody..." He said quietly, meaning every word. Tsunade coughed on her drink loudly. Fear and despair began to cloud her mind.

"W-what?" She asked, her eyes wide and fearful. _Naruto...how much have you fallen?_

Realizing what he just said, his hand automatically crept up to the back of his neck to scratch it sheepishly; a reflex he had gotten rid of when he joined the ANBU, but being in Konoha brought back many of his old feelings and memories.

"A-ah. Just ignore that." He said simply.

After that, the room felt awkward.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Let's get down to business. Squad 14 is being disbanded for now; you four have been through hell, and with the destruction of Oto in its entirety, the world is free from major threats...for now. Your two superiors are already decommissioned. Here are the forms." She said, handing him the papers.

"What about Hana...?" He had to asked as he signed them, his voice drastically changed from the dull, monotone he used before. It sounded lively...hopeful.

The Hokage's brows rose. The letters from Kakashi notified her of Naruto's closeness with his female teammate, but she never expected it to be so close as to change his personality.

"Both of you are getting a month-long break, possibly even longer. You are both off duty from here on out. It's her choice if she wants to reveal her identity to you." She said simply, but she knew that she might have to assign her apprentice to keep an eye on Naruto. Something she felt wasn't a good idea, but was necessary.

He was slightly pertubed due to the fact that he was, in a way, being 'kicked off' the black ops. He would miss the missions, the constant thrill of combat...the killing. Almost rolling his eyes at his own weirdness, he nodded to his Hokage.

Tsunade then walked over to him, and glanced at his tattoo. "I'm going to remove the chakra seal now, but the tattoo is going to remain." She said, gauging his reaction. He only nodded, his eyes focused on the village outside the window.

She ran through a few handseals, and placed her palm on the ink. A glow resonated throughout the room, and within a few moments, the tattoo had faded only slightly.

Naruto felt as though he had been hit by mountain. His underused chakra coils weren't adjusted to his normal reserves, and the restoration of both his and the Kyuubi's chakra took it out of him. "Is...is that all, Hokage-sama?" He panted out.

Wanting to spend more time with him, but sensing his desire to leave, she threw him a key. "That's for your new apartment. It was built a few months ago, and I had your old furniture and belongings brought over.

He raised a brow at her anticipation, and she smirked. "I knew you would make it out of there alive. You always do."

Running his thumb along the metal of the key absently, he stood up, and instantly walked to the door. He cocked his head back, and slightly smirked. It was a hollow shell of what his normal, exuberant grin once was, and it shook Tsunade to the core. "I'll see you around, _baa-chan_." He said, before leaving.

She frowned as soon as the door closed. "Oh, Naruto...what the hell happened to you..." She said to herself quietly, before returning to her work.

* * *

Naruto locked the door behind him, and breathed in the scent of...home.

His new apartment was a bit dusty, but somehow it felt comfortable. His feet slid on the floor as he walked down the hallway, his hands gradually working at the straps and belt on his person.

One by one his tools and pouches fell lazily onto the wooden floor; his sword, his utility pouch, his medical pack and his kunai holster.

He turned left, his mind getting slightly hazy. He was back in Konoha. Where everything began, and where everything ended. Though he was home, he felt...empty. Lonely.

Kicking off his boots for practically the first time in three years, he walked into his bedroom. Sure enough, most of his stuff from his old apartment was moved in. His ramen poster, his dresser and his shockingly comfortable bed.

His eyes caught something on his dresser. Walking over, he recognized it as his Team 7 photograph. His fingers lifted it up off the wooden furniture, and he stared at it.

His gaze scanned the four figures that were displayed. Kakashi was behind them, a whimsical smile on his masked face. A frown formed on Naruto's lips when he saw his teammates.

Sasuke was scowling, looking away, and Sakura looked incredibly happy. His grip tightening on the picture frame. He glared at their faces, as if they could see it.

This team was dead. Sasuke was dead, and Sakura was god-knows-where with whoever. It angered him, knowing that those two people once brought him immense happiness, and also extreme pain.

In his fury, he turned and whipped the picture at his wall. The glass smashed, shards of it flying everywhere. The frame was demolished, and it hit the ground with a dull thunk.

Not even bothering to shed out of his worn, sweaty, dirt and blood covered gear, he collapsed onto his bed, and practically moaned outloud in delight when his torso made contact with the soft, formfitting texture of his bed.

He couldn't lie to himself. He had, in a way, missed home. He had time to worry about Hana, his friends...and Sakura, the next day. His talk with Hana...cleansed him, in a way. He felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders, a new hope being lit up in the horizon.

Yes, perhaps he could get the happy ending he desired. It would be a _long _time before he would ever be 'normal' again, but with Hana's help...he felt as though he could be happy once again.

With that, his body relaxed, and he fell into a deep slumber, getting the best sleep he had in years.

* * *

A/N: BLEH. That was a terrible chapter, I know. I looked over it, and a few parts seemed rushed/asspully, but I literally couldn't find anything else to write for them.

But, hopefully the next ones will be better. When I wrote this...I dunno. I had a hard time gettin' it down.

**Next chapter: Reunions. **The plots finally moving forward, and the angst and drama will be hitting very, _very _soon. ;D

I hope you enjoyed! D: Oh, and review! :D

EDIT: Last chapter, a few people caught the reference for Dead Space 2 (holy fuck that game is amazing) with the whole Sakura hallucination.

And now, for some reason, I REALLLLLLLY want to make a Naruto/Dead Space crossover. Anyone interested? D:


	19. Reunions

A/N: Fuck, I'm sorry.

I have no decent excuses for why this is late. Just procrastination.

I hope you'll all forgive me! D:

I beefed this chapter up. It's a little intense at some parts, and I felt it was choppy, but hopefully it serves it's purpose.

Thanks to FicsRLulz, of course, for looking over this.

Btw, in the coming weeks I'm gonna be posting up a couple of new fics. One is a tragedy-based one-shot, the other will be a short 3-4 chapter fic involving betrayal, deception, sacrifice and a pinch of philosophy; the angst level could very well top this story if I play it right. Tell me what you guys think of them! Not alot of info, but still. I'm excited to write them.

Speaking of angst, I'd like to ask you guys a sort of author-to-reviewer question.

When I began PIL, I wrote it with the purpose of providing a story that literally ate your heart. I must be a masochist or something, but I've always loved a good angst story that clinched your gut and really struck your mind. I wanted to ask this; how have I been doing in that department? Have I been writing the emotions, the characterization and the tragedy of human psyche in a meaningful way?

It's kind of hard for me, as the author, to get a good judge on how impacting my writing is. Hence why I have a beta, whose been helping me tremendously. But I also wanted to get an opinion from all of you guys.

So, in the reviews, if you could give me a little blurb on my writing for the emotions and the drama alongside the rest of your comments, I'd greatly appreciate it. This is, after all, the climax of my story; I want my writing to be damn-near perfect if I'm going to pull off what I'm hoping will be a cliche-breaking, mentally-striking confrontation and rebuilding of the NaruSaku relationship. That sort of became a goal for me when I really started getting into this story, and the characters I've 'created' (though, obviously not. Kishi owns these magnificent creations).

It's a little funny how much I've, personally, seen my writing and story-boarding improve. Originally, this fic was going to be cliche; I didn't give a shit about development, or proper story-telling, or anything like that. It originally was going to be about Sakura cheating on Sasuke with Naruto in a hot-springs resort (jesus christ, I'm glad I got away from that idea). Eventually, I took parts away, and with the help of a few magnificent bastards, I crafted this monster. I wanted to stray away from the cliche of NaruSaku fanfics, and Naruto stories in general. I wanted to create a story that was realistic in the setting these characters are in. They're soldiers; they face war and death every day. It evolved into a tale of human emotion and mentality...and yeah.

Sorry for the ramblings, haha. Like I said, enjoy the chapter, and sorry for being late.

* * *

_**Perfectly Imperfect Love: Chapter 19 - Reunions**_

* * *

Naruto awoke, not in a ragged tent, nor in a damp cave, and not even in his recently reacquainted bed.

He awoke in a lush, green, peaceful meadow. He recognized it as the inside of his seal; he had been her multiple times before. He frowned slightly when the sky wasn't it's usual baby blue; it was dark, grey and covered in storm clouds.

"It's been a while." A deep, grumbling voice said, followed by the sound of light footsteps.

Naruto looked over, and saw his orange-colored Bijuu walking over to him. His nine tails were swishing around lazily, and the expression on the fox's face was almost...solemn.

"Kurama?" The blonde asked, his voice, in a way, shocked. He never understood why, but they hadn't had any sort of contact over the years he spent in ANBU.

"The one and only." The fox said smugly, before plopping down next to his container, fixing a lone, crimson eye on him.

Kurama took in Naruto's appearance. He looked ragged...tired. Like he had just been to Hell and back. He could also see the darkness and despair that laid in those dull, cerulean eyes.

The desire to kill, to end, to cause pain.

Oh yes. The Kyuubi watched Naruto throughout his years in Otogakure. Every life he ended, every scream he tore from the throats of his victims, every drop of blood he spilled. As a physical embodiment of malice, destruction and chaos, Kurama was in tune with those feelings and acts.

But nothing prepared him for what he saw his container _do_.

Ever since they became partners and friends, Kurama had taken a liking to Naruto. He became protective over him, watchful. The blonde was, in a way, his savior from an existence of pure hatred and mistreatment. The blonde's exuberant personality and inane ability to make friends with _anyone _intrigued him...and affected him. Hell, Naruto even convinced his friends, the Alliance, and Konoha that he, the demon fox, bode no ill will towards humans.

His transition from the happy, goofy, peaceful hero of the Fourth War, to the cold, emotionless, bloodthirsty black ops soldier was one Kurama would never forget.

"It _has _been a while." Naruto remarked, turning to rest his head on the soft fur of his tailed beast. "Speaking of which, where have you been?"

"Indeed. That damn seal the big-breasted sannin put on you cut off not only my chakra, but any connection or mental link we had. I was, essentially, trapped once again." The fox said grimly. A sigh escaped his companion's lips.

"Ah. Sorry 'bout that."

A silence blanketed the two. Kurama noticed a frown marring the blonde's features.

"I blame myself, you know."

"Hm?"

Kurama never thought he would be talking so casually, so closely with his vessel. Even his conversation with Mito and Kushina never got this far; they were never his friends.

"I can't really blame the two of them for everything...in a way...it's my fault."

"Naruto-" The fox protested, confused by the blonde's lack of determination in having a backbone against his former teammates. His words almost made it seem like he was giving up...giving in to the despair he felt.

"Don't get me wrong. It still pisses me off...so fucking much. But, really, in the end, I can only truly give myself the blame. If I never fell in love with her, _none _of this would have never happened. I wouldn't have indirectly destroyed their relationship, I wouldn't have broken Hinata's heart, and I wouldn't have had to go to that _hell _of a fucking nation for four years." Naruto ranted, his face scrunching up in frustration. At himself, at Sakura...at everything.

The Bijuu's eyes narrowed considerably. "Your relationship with the Haruno was a healthy one prior to her mistakes and...rather poor decision making. You can't take the blame for something like this. It wasn't your folly to begin with."

"I suppose that's all they were? Just mistakes..." Naruto whispered rhetorically. Deep down, he found a semblance of truth in the fox's words, but still, the fact remained, ever persistent. If he hadn't fallen in love with Sakura, he wouldn't be the way he was. That was just logic.

Kurama had no words for Naruto. What could he possibly say? Oh, it's fine, Naruto, you're okay even though you're a borderline psychopathic killer? The fox silently scoffed at the thought. He was a damned demon; not some sympathetic, gentle beast. He'd only end up causing his vessel more stress if he continued to speak.

* * *

After his talk with his bijuu, Naruto awoke once more, this time in his bed.

And also with loud, obnoxious knocking on his apartment door, echoing throughout the small abode.

He pushed himself out of bed, and suddenly his appearance and hygiene caught up with him. He stunk. And a small glance in the mirror gave him a glimpse of his appearance; dirty, covered in splatters of blood, and pretty much in tatters.

He then looked to the corner of his room, and frowned at the smashed picture frame that held the photo of Team 7. The thought of what he could have had, what _could have been_, made it hard to breath and made him feel nauseous, even almost four years after the fact. Sighing and shaking his head, he walked into his kitchen to go get the door.

"Yo."

He jumped slightly at the greeting, and turned to see his old sensei staring at him, with his lone eye slightly crinkled.

"You're alive, Kaka-sensei." Naruto noted rhetorically, almost dumbly. His heart sped up slightly, startled, but he quickly calmed himself down. He was in Konoha.

He was safe. _But was he safe from himself__? _He had thought darkly.

"And you look like shit." Kakashi noted, amusement evident in his voice. He wouldn't show it, but he was immensely happy his old students had made it out of Oto intact.

Both physically...and mentally. If that.

"Fuck you, too, sensei." The blonde said in what he attempted to make a light-hearted tone, but it came off harsh. Nonetheless, Kakashi understood, and gestured to a uniform on the table, chuckling slightly.

"It's your new gear. Better get used to it; once this month is up, we'll be going on missions again."

Naruto raised a brow at 'we', but said nothing on that matter. "A jounin uniform? I'm not a jounin." He said, running his finger on along deep, forest green flak jacket. It was a standard uniform; the navy blue shirt and pants, along with a pair of black sandles, plated gloves and, of course, the vest.

"All decommissioned ANBU are automatically 'demoted', if you can call it that, to jounin. You're paycheck will be a little less, and the missions won't be as...demanding, so just a heads-up. And no, don't worry, you don't have to babysit a trio of brats like I did." Kakashi said, and Naruto merely shrugged, before glancing at his door.

His thoughts drifted to Hana. He already missed her, and cursed himself for being such a sappy romantic. He could damn well refrain from being in her presence for at least a day. _Stupid feelings._

"It seems some 'people' wish to see you. I'd wash up if I were you." The silver-haired man said, pushing his chair back and standing up. He gave Naruto a critical eye, taking in his almost feral appearance, but didn't push it.

Naruto was still staring at the door, his eyes narrowed, when his ex-captain walked up to him and gripped his shoulder. "You alright?" He asked.

His subordinate was tempted to say 'no', but nodded anyways. "Yeah. Just a little out of it."

"Alright. We'll catch up later over a bowl of ramen. Hell, I'll even pay. See ya." Kakashi said, poofing away in his old, aloof fashion. The blonde didn't notice his expression change to that of worry before he left.

Not even bothering to heed his superior's words, Naruto proceeded to the door anyways. It was either a chuunin messenger, Tsunade, or one of his neighbors. He prayed it wasn't Tsunade; he didn't feel like dealing with her yelling today.

Unfortunately, it was none of above. He opened the door, and right before him was the old 'Konoha 11' group. His old friends. His comrades, and his pseudo-family. Kiba, Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sai, Neji, Tenten and Lee. And _her_.

"Hey, Uzumaki! Long time no seeeeeee..." Kiba trailed off, his eyes growing wide at the blonde. They all took in the blood and mud splattered visage. The cigarrette that was in Shikamaru's mouth fell to the floor, his jaw dropping.

Naruto glanced down, and sighed. Now he realized he should have listened to Kakashi. He truly was a wreck.

He opened his mouth to speak a greeting, and looked up, but he caught the viridian gaze of the woman he never wanted to see again. His eyes narrowed when he took in her appearance. Her hair had grown longer, he noted. _About the same length as Hana's..._ He mused, before a glare formed on his face.

This was the woman who practically ruined his life (with a little assistance from his cumbersome feelings). A small part of him took satisfaction in her expression; it was wounded. Hurt by his icy cold glare.

He noticed that she looked tired; exhausted, both mentally and physically. As if she hadn't known the idea of peace and rest for months, possibly even years.

In reality, he knew why. Sasuke was dead. He wouldn't be surprised if she ended up blaming him. But, to his small shock, she quickly averted her gaze to the ground, where she traced the floor absently with her sandle.

He raised an almost suspicious eyebrow when he noticed she was favoring one of her legs quite extensively. Something about that set him on edge; there was no way...

"N-naruto-kun? Is that really you?" He quickly flickered his eyes over to Hinata, whose words had cut him off from his musings. She looked quite concerned; her eyes wide and fearful. With the sight of her worried, innocent gaze, a realization suddenly hit him.

He would have a very, _very _hard time fitting back in with his friends. With Konoha, with social life, with _everything_.

Looking at her now, he felt...off. He knew he was now a completely different person, but one thought ran through his mind. How could he talk to these people again?

They were all practically the epitome of innocence. They were his childhood friends; longtime comrades. They weren't in Oto, ANBU, or anything close to that.

Without saying a word, he reentered his apartment, slamming the door behind him, and walked slowly over to his table. He ignored their yells of protest, and picked up his new uniform. Pausing, he glanced at the floor, where his old equipment lay.

He suddenly felt giddy when he realized that he was extremely dirty. He could actually have a fucking _shower_.

* * *

Naruto stood in the shower, his palms pressing against the cool ceramic walls as the warm, almost soothing water, cascaded down his body. His blonde hair, now slightly dulled in color thanks to the stress of the past years of his life, was matted to his head.

Being near his friends...and _her_...really put things into perspective for him. He should be feeling good. He had a decent sleep, although restless, and he wouldn't doubt that he had a stock of ramen in his cupboards. He should be fucking _happy_.

He wasn't in Oto anymore. No more nights filled with nightmares or worry, no more clearing out camps filled with corpses and mangled remains of innocent people, no more torturing and killing countless enemies.

For once, he was safe.

But he didn't feel like it.

How could he? Four years he spent there. Four years spent in, almost literally, hell.

Yamato and Kakashi had been prepared for what they saw in Oto; years of experience and gradual mental desensitization against the horrors of war had allowed them to tune it all out, in a way.

But Naruto jumped head-first into the gore, torture, death...everything. And it changed him.

His body shook with the stress. Gods, was it horrible. He'd done so many bad things...horrible things to people, he couldn't find it in himself to believe he was good anymore.

Regardless of whether or not the enemy deserved what they received from him, Naruto still hurt them in the most unimaginable ways. He peeled the skin from their muscle, salted their abrasions and gashes to extract information, dismembered them slowly and painfully.

Did he feel remorse?

Resting his forehead against the shower wall, he scoffed. Of course he didn't. But he did feel the horror-stricken consequences of his actions. What kind of monster was he, now?

After all these years, did he really end up becoming the thing people once feared? Was he truly a demon, deep down? Malicious, blood-thirsty and above all else, _evil_?

He thought of Hana, who was the proof of the pudding of that question. Demons didn't have feelings such as affection, or love.

And he _did _have those for Hana. It was a strange thought, having strong feelings for someone whose face you'd never truly seen before.

The water suddenly dropped in temperature, the heating all used up. He glanced downwards, and felt a strange sort of satisfaction when he saw the dirty, bloody water wash away down the drain.

He pretended as though those were his sins washing away. He had to put Oto behind him, and look forward to the future. Hokage, Hana, friends, living.

Stepping out of the small cubicle-like area, he grabbed a towel of the hanger that was attached to the blue-painted walls. He walked over to his mirror, and for the first time in ages, finally got a good look at himself.

He noticed his body was now practically perfect. Not a blemish in sight, and perfectly chisiled with hard muscle. But he was paler; _alot _paler compared to when he wasn't an ANBU.

His seal was splayed across his stomach; a side-effect of his now-friendly relationship with Kurama. Unless he purposefully hid it, which took little effort, it would automatically appear on his abdomen.

His eyes traveled up to his face. He didn't like what he saw.

Everything seemed...dulled. His hair, his whiskers...especially his eyes.

Sighing, he wrapped the towel around his head and rubbed violently to dry his hair. His eyes automatically closed, and he frowned.

His thoughts about Oto wouldn't go away. He tried to forget, and _really _tried to steer his thoughts away from the internment camps. He could stomach the death and the combat, but the camps, the innocent civilians...he couldn't handle reliving that.

He forced those ideas from his brain. "I am an elite shinobi; a shadow in the sun, darkness in the light. I am death. I am life. I am ANBU." He recited quietly, remembering the motto he uttered years before when he graduated.

After completely drying his body, he looked back in the mirror. He regretted that action.

His heart stopped when he saw two pairs of eyes staring at him from within his shower. One pair dulled, lifeless green, the other hell-fire red, twirling madly in chaos.

He whirled around with a quiet yelp of shock and fear, but when he truly looked into the shower, nothing was there.

He leaned on the counter, trying to calm his rapidly-beating heart. The hallucinations should have stopped. He was home now; everything was well. Even though it wasn't as violent as the previous ones...it still scared the shit out of him.

Why was it so hard to just let go? He had no issue purging his feelings for his two teammates earlier. Why was it all coming back?

Shaking his head, he finally regained his composure. He quickly got dressed in his uniform, and turned to look at himself once more.

He admired the outfit; it suited him. He was glad to be rid of the ANBU armor. It dug into his skin, was uncomfortable, and added unnecessary weight and cumborsome pieces that could get snagged on branches or wires.

After shaving quickly, he zipped up his flak jacket and walked out of his bathroom. He froze when he saw his friends, _all _of his friends, in his apartment.

Eating his ramen and fucking around with his personal belongings.

"What the fuck?"

Eleven heads turned to look at them, with varying degrees of emotion.

Instantly, they all rushed over to him, save for Sakura and Sai.

He was assaulted by hugs, kisses on the cheeks, and one particular ass-grab from Ino, who winked sultrily at him. "Jeeze, you think a girl loves you, then she goes and grabs another man's ass...how troublesome..." Shikamaru groaned, crossing his arms in indignation. He was quickly glomped by the blonde girl, who squealed words of affection to him.

Taking in the other's reactions, Naruto noted that this was a 'regular' thing.

He attempted to fill in the 'details' of what he had been doing the past few years. It was awkward for him, but no one else noticed. At least, not for a little while.

Over his conversation, he caught the gazes of both Kiba and Shikamaru. The two of them gave him knowing looks, and he instantly understood. They knew what he was _really _doing the past four years.

"So, I really just spent my time traveling the world, talking to the different contacts Jiraiya-sensei used to know, and settling the spy network once again." He finished.

Everyone finally felt it. From his tense demeanor, to his formal choice of words, to the significant lack of cheer in his voice, they could feel it. Naruto had changed. Drastically.

The Nara had spoken to Kiba on the matter of Naruto being ANBU before, in private, of course. Kiba had filled him in on how, exactly, Naruto was fairing in his life. He could see clearly that the constant pressure of death and war had taken it's toll on the blonde. He just didn't know how _far _Naruto had fallen.

Kiba, too, was shocked. His friends either forgot or chose to forget all about the image of Naruto at the door; dirty, sweaty and literally covered in blood. The Inuzuka could still smell the stench of the crimson fluid. It was nauseating. _What the hell happened to you, Naruto?_

Hinata had once felt she always could understand Naruto; years ago, she had shamelessly though herself in love with him, without any knowledge of the consequences of where those feelings would take her. She had her heart broken, but it had mended. For the better.

But she could still read him; she didn't know if it was her Byakugan, or just her long-time admiration of him, either way, she could still look into his eyes and understand who he currently was and what he was feeling. Within those dull pools of cerulean, she saw the most complex swirl of negativity. It scared her. She never knew someone could look so..._dead_, and still be living.

* * *

The awkward almost-tension never vanished the group, even as they left the dark apartment and stepped out onto the warm, sunny roads of Konohagakure.

The long-time friends walked casually down the road, engrossed in chatter. Ocassionaly, one of them would pull Naruto into the conversation, but they were all getting the vibe that he wanted to be left alone for the time being. Years of working, fighting, and training together allowed them to be practically in synch with eachother's feelings; even after long periods of time apart.

It was nice for Naruto. That is, until the villagers caught sight of him.

"Naruto-kun, you're home!"

"Naruto-sama! Welcome back!"

"Naruto-kuuuun!~"

His eyebrows rose in mild shock when he was swarmed. By girls.

Lots of girls. They were all swooning over him, and it made him uncomfortable. He noticed the other villagers that had noticed him were smiling warmly, content to just watch their hero.

A pen was shoved in his face, and for ten minutes he signed autographs on, quite literally, everything. Books, weapons, posters, cleavages. His wrist was aching by the time the crowd began to slightly dissipate.

Fortunately, he was quickly pulled away from the girls by his comrades, and promptly pushed into a small barbeque resturant, which was mostly empty.

He was pleased when Chouji said he had rented the place out, and that only a few more people would join him.

After settling in and giving their orders to the waiter that had greeted them, they all settled into a nice, easy conversation.

"So what's new? I've been gone for so long, I feel like I barely know you guys anymore." Naruto said, taking a sip of his glass of water.

Ino was instantly hopping up and down in her seat and happiness. "Look! Look!" She said, shoving her hand towards him. He noticed she was wearing a ring.

An engagement ring.

"So Shikamaru actually proposed?"

The brunette sighed and nodded. "I don't know if it was rushed, or wh-" He was cut off by a kiss from Ino, and Naruto looked away, feeling a little out of place.

"...Did you hear, Naruto?" Neji asked, a frown on his normally stoic face. Naruto raised a brow and took another sip from his drink. "Hear what?"

The room stilled. "The Uchiha was killed."

Naruto's eyes instantly snapped to Sakura, who was looking down at her lap. His gaze narrowed for a moment, deep in thought, before he looked back at Neji. "Yeah. I heard."

They gawked at him. Naruto's borderline obsession for saving Sasuke was no secret; they all knew he held a deep brotherly bond with him, and on many ocassions, his efforts almost got him killed.

But Naruto's reaction almost seemed like he didn't care. Like he was brushing off Sasuke's death like it was nothing.

His head shot up when he heard a scream, and looked over to the source. Tenten was currently being tickled by a grinning, happy Lee.

Normally, he would have found the image endearing, but her noises of protest only brought him back to the war. The fucking _war_.

He remembered every blood-curtling, heart-wrenching scream he heard; the countless times he had walked in on innocent women being violated by the monsters that were Oto's soldiers.

His hands shook in a turmoil of emotions. Every time he would witness that kind of nightmare, he would be filled with regret; he should have been _faster_, should have been _quicker_. If he had gotten there sooner, perhaps they wouldn't have been destroyed by those men.

"I couldn't save any of them..." He murmurred, causing all of his friend's to look at him.

"What?"

_Oh gods_, was it horrible. The bodies, the corpses, the mangled remains. So many people, tortured and dead.

His friends began calling his name, but he couldn't hear. All he could hear was their screams. He remembered one of the most horrifying experiences of his life.

His team had gone into one of the prisoner camps, and had found the room where they kept their slaves. He had burst through the door, only to witness a single woman being brutalized.

He remembered glaring at the man, who only smirked at him and continued. Naruto had screamed at him; yelled at him to stop. _"Let her go, or I'll rip your fucking throat out!" _He had yelled.

But he didn't stop. He had pulled out a knife, and grinned even more as the woman cried. Naruto had tried, but he couldn't save her. The man killed her mid-rape.

"Naruto! Snap out of it!"

He looked around. His friends were giving him extremely worried looks.

He tried to push it all behind him. But he would never forget.

* * *

After getting their food, and everyone trying to brush of Naruto's behavior (no one wanted to ask who he couldn't save, or why), the new guests arrived.

Naruto glanced at the newcomers, and his eyes slightly widened. Karin and Sai had come, and they sat down at the edge of the table.

"Look who it is. My fellow Uzumaki. How are you, Naru-kun?" The redhead said with a smirk as she leaned into her palms, her crimson eyes staring into Naruto's dull blue.

On the outside, she wore a smile; on the inside, she was shocked. Naruto's chakra had changed so much since she last saw him. It was darker...not filled with malice and hate, but it was disturbed. Filled with horror, torment and the feeling of death.

"Karin. It's been a while." He said as he soaked in her appearance. He couldn't help it; he desperately tried to tie her looks, her personality, _anything_ to Hana.

"Heh, yeah. I just got off my shift at the hospital. Decided to pop in for a few, check in on everyone."

Naruto noticed that everyone was relatively comfortable with Karin. But then...

"You work at the hospital?" He asked.

He didn't notice Sakura staring at him intently. Though confused at first at his sudden interest in Karin, she now understood. He was trying to figure out if the redhead was Hana.

"Yes, sir! I started about a year ago when pinky over there got transferred."

"Speaking of which, forehead, how was Suna? For being in the sun all the time, you sure look alot paler." Ino teased, though deeply curious.

A certain blonde's eyes widened, suspicion creeping into his system. So...Karin wasn't Hana. And Sakura...she was in Suna the past year?

Speaking for the first time that day, Sakura cleared her throat and shook her head. "O-oh. I spent almost all of my time in the hospital teaching the staff Konoha medical techniques, so I rarely got any time to go out and tan." She said.

Naruto felt his stomach sinking. Sakura's voice...was so familiar. Eerily familar. Soft, like velvet. It rang in his ears, soothing him.

Like Hana's voice often did.

As the pinkette spoke, she became aware of Naruto's sudden inner turmoil. It was obvious; his hands were clenched, his face scrunched up in confusion. She felt sick.

She needed to do something for him. Naruto was by no means stupid; sooner or later, he was going to connect the dots.

She had to confront him.

* * *

After they all finished eating, the group said their goodbyes, making promises to hangout in the near future.

Naruto had made for his apartment, but was tagged along by Shikamaru and Kiba, who both were giving him stern looks. He understood. They were worried about him.

They were the only ones who knew.

Without any spoken words on the way there, they arrived at his small abode. Naruto unlocked the door and opened it, gesturing for the two men to walk in. He followed, and closing the door behind them, he spoke up.

"You guys want anything to drink or eat?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Same here."

The blonde sighed, and walked over to his couch with a bottle of whiskey he had taken from the barbeque eatery. He popped it open, and took a small swig. He didn't know when he had ever gotten a taste for the hard stuff, but the burn of the alcohol traveling down his throat, warming his abdomen was a nice distraction.

"What the hell happened to you, man?" Shikamaru said, breaking his normally lazy demeanor as he sat down next to his blonde friend.

"Well. You both know what I was really doing the past few years, so I guess that's an adequate explanation for 'what the hell happened to me'." He replied.

Kiba sat across from him in his armchair, leaning forward. "Dude. You don't get it; in the resturant, you sort of blanked out. You kept mumbling about how you couldn't save them, or how you were too late. It was fucking scary."

The ex-ANBU looked up and sighed. "Special Tactics and Assassination. That was my branch of the ANBU. I was trained for it. To kill, to see death, to _live _war." He said hauntingly.

Shikamaru and Kiba looked at each other fearfully.

Naruto looked to his friends. "But they never prepare you for what truly awaits you. Blood, screaming, explosions, sweat and everthing that comes in between. It was literally hell over there. You saw, Kiba. You witnessed what we had to do on a daily basis."

"You're telling me...that was a normal thing over there?" The Inuzuka said. Shikamaru had gripped Naruto's shoulder in a sign of support. The blonde nodded.

"There was so much death. I can still hear their screams, you know? Not just the civilians. The Oto-nin's, as well. God, I've done so many bad things.

"They deserved it, Naruto. From what the Hokage told us, those bastards got what was coming to them." The Nara said, his voice shaking.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm as bad as them. The things I _did _to them...I can never forgive myself."

Silence came after that. Naruto clearly wasn't going to tell them what exactly he did, but they knew. Kiba had witnessed him torture a man. It was disturbing, horrifying...and such a contrast to the old Naruto's personality that it scared him endlessly.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this, Sakura?"

Master and apprentice were sitting in a small archive in the Hokage tower; Sakura had come looking for the blonde Sannin after hanging out with her friends, her mind flustered and worried.

"Yes, Shishou. I'm positive."

"So let me get this straight. _You _are the cause of all of this?"

The now-familiar ball of guilt hit the pink-haired medic once again, but she nodded. "My actions drove him to the ANBU. Though...not directly, I turned him into the man he is now."

She absently itched the back of her neck; it was still raw from the constant suctioning of chakra. She had used a small, inconspicuous seal to change her hair color; something she had picked up from Shizune prior to her induction into the ANBU.

She looked straight into the hazel eyes of her Hokage. "He needs this. I'm willing to throw away any chance at being with him; I just want him to be happy again."

* * *

Naruto raised a brow when he heard knocking on his door. Glancing at the clock hanging on the wall, the time read 2:00 AM; far too late for any regular visitors.

He had been busy. Thinking about Sakura. With Karin out of the picture, the similarities between Hana and Sakura were staggering.

He didn't know what to think of it. He didn't _want _to think of it.

Grunting as he sat up, he traveled to his door for the umpteenth time that day. Well-wishers, fans, visitors and grateful villagers had constantly been coming to his home to welcome him back. And it made him uncomfortable. Kiba and Shikamaru had left after his haunting talk about the ANBU. They had made small, quiet goodbyes, and Naruto had tried to reassure him that he would be fine, even if he didn't believe the words himself.

He was supposed to be a hero for these people. A symbol of hope, of happiness, of peace. But he was the antithesis of that.

He arrived at his door, and promptly opened it. His eyes widened in shock for a split second, before forming into a glare when he saw none-other than Sakura standing outside. Giving him a timid, apologetic look. And that pissed him off.

"Can I help you, Uchiha-san?"

Instantly, Sakura's timidness was gone, and her forehead ticked as she returned the blonde's glare. "It's _Haruno-san_. May I come in?" She was hurt by his forced formality in addressing her, but she was on a mission.

He was a little surprised to know she changed her name back. He expected her to keep Sasuke's last name. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but be hostile. He leaned against the door frame, and spoke. "I don't see why you have to enter. Can't you just do whatever it is you're here for out here?" He said coldly.

"Naruto...come on. Please. I just have to talk to you. I have so much to say...so please..." She said quietly, almost sadly.

Her voice. God damn it, it could make him do anything. Even years after the fact. And it didn't help that he was beginning to have the sinking suspicion that Sakura wasn't exactly in Suna the past year.

The thought made his blood boil.

"Fine. But only for a little bit." He spat, gesturing for her to walk in. A small smile graced her lips, which almost made him livid.

She stepped in, glancing around his apartment. It was dark and gloomy; something she had come to associate with Naruto ever since she was 'reunited' with him.

He pointed to the sofa, and she sat down. He followed suit, and stared at her.

"So? What is it?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

"That's it? You're _sorry_? You could have said that outside, Haruno-san. Don't you have a kid to take care of or something?" He groaned angrily.

She looked at him in shock. "_What did you just say_? Do you really think that..."

"Well that's the whole reason Sasuke married you in the first place. So you could have his kids. So it really wouldn't surprise me if you had a kid." He said, leaning back with his arms crossed.

"I don't. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't. And yes. I'm here because I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry for everything, and the guilt has been tearing me apart. These past few years have been terrible-"

"You don't know what terrible is, _Sakura._" He interrupted once again, clenching his fists.

"God damn it, won't you let me speak!?" She screamed, startling him. Her face was red with anger, sadness and indignation. He was a little unnerved by her out burst.

"I've had to deal with the guilt of breaking your heart and hurting you so immensely. I had to deal with the remorse of being with Sasuke while you withered and fell into depression. I had to deal with you leaving the village without a word. I had to deal with Sasuke being killed right in front of me. After you left, he was the one constant in my life. The one thing that held the dream of Team 7 together. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I get it, Sakura! You loved him! I've known that for years! You fucking loved that bastard!" Naruto yelled, standing up. Now he was _pissed_. Even after years of getting over her, it still rubbed him the wrong way when he heard about her affection for Sasuke.

"You're the bastard! Don't you get it yet? Are you really still the oblivious idiot I once knew? I love _you_, Naruto! It was always _fucking _you!"

His breath stopped. All color faded from his face.

"W...what?"

"I've always loved you! Ever since we became a team, ever since you henged into Sasuke, hell, even before that, I loved you! I was just always so blind thanks to my own idiotic mind, but god damnit, I loved you! I still do, more than ever?"

He suddenly walked forward, while she simultaneously stumbled backwards. She hit the wall, which was then struck by the palm of Naruto's hand, right next to her head.

He didn't like her words. They were just a lie. A lie like always. He hated how much she could affect him. Still, after all of these years, she could still have an insane effect on his mind.

"Just because you're little Uchiha fantasy didn't work...that made you think you love me? That's a bunch of bullshit, and you know it Sakura! Don't try this bullshit again! What do you want from me this time, huh? You want to take your anger and depression over Sasuke's death out on me? Or do you want to manipulate me, to somehow bring that bastard back to life? It wouldn't be the first time-"

He grunted as a pair of chakra-enhanced palms pushed him back. She huffed and stomped over to him.

"Is that really what you think? Do you really not believe my words? Do you really not believe how much I've suffered because of the pain I've caused you? You don't get it. You don't fucking _understand_ how much it kills me every time you're in pain. Especially when it's my fault. So don't you _dare _imply that I would _ever _manipulate you like that. You never got it back in the Land of Iron, and you don't get it now."

"You don't realize what your actions did Sakura. Where it drove me. What the pain you caused me made me do."

"I do realize, Naruto! God damnit, I know more than everyone else what I've done to you!"

"HOW?! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW? I've killed more men than I would have ever thought possibly! I've tortured so many people, that I can't sleep at night! I've peeled their skin away, burned them to death, stabbed them, blew them apart! HOW WOULD YOU EVER KNOW THAT?!"

"BECAUSE I WAS THERE! I SAW! I'M HANA!"

* * *

A/N: HEHEHEHEEHEHHEHE I'M SO EVIL FOR DOING THAT.

I won't make any promises, but I assure you, the next chapter won't take as long.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Once again, sorry for being RIDICULOUSLY late.

Next chapter: Heaven and Earth

**UPDATE:**

**I've recently been diagnosed with severe depression. I'll update whenever the fuck I'm happy enough to. Sorry for not being obligated to constantly keep you guys updated with my progress on my stories.**

**I realize it's been over two months, and will probably be well over three months by the time I update. I apologize for that.**

**Good day.**

-Swag


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